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PRESENTED BY 








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CORRESPONDENCE 



THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE 



THE UNITED STATES MINISTER AT MADRID, 



CONSULAR REPRESENTATIVES Of THE UNITED STATES IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA, 



•• 



OTHER PAPERS RELATING TO CUBAN AFFAIRS, 



TRANSMITTED TO 



THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN OBEDIENCE TO A RESOLUTION, 




WASHINGTON 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1870. 



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41st Congress, ) HOUSE OF EEPEESENTATIYES. ( Ex. Doc. 
2d Session. f \ No. 160. 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



MESSAGE 

FROM THE 

PRESIDENT OE THE UNITED STATES 



IN ANSWER TO 



A resolution of the Souse of 1th instant, transmitting correspondence rela- 
tive to the struggle for freedom in the Island of Cuba. 



February 22, 1870. — Eeferred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered to be 

printed. 



To the Souse of Representatives : 

I transmit to the House of Eepresentatives, in answer to their resolu- 
tion of the 7th instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with accom- 
panying documents. 

U. S. GEANT. 

Washington, February 21, 1870. 



Department of State, 

Washington, February 21, 1870. 

The Secretary of State, to whom was referred the resolution of the 
House of Eepresentatives of the 7th instant, requesting the President, 
"if not incompatible with the public interest, to communicate to this 
House so much of the correspondence between our government and the 
government of Spain, and between the United States legation at Madrid 
and the Department of State, as relates to affairs connected with the 
island of Cuba; and also [under like reservation] such information as 
may be in his possession in reference to the present struggle for inde- 
pendence in that island," has the honor to lay before the President the 
following papers, numbered and specified as in the accompanying synop- 
tical list, viz : 

I. Extracts from late correspondence between this department and 
the legation of the United States at Madrid, contained in numbers 1 to 
46 inclusive. 

n. Printed extracts from late correspondence between this depart- 
ment and the Spanish minister accredited to this government, (Mr. Lo- 
pez Eoberts,) and between this department and several diplomatic and 
consular representatives of the United States, and other printed papers,. 
' which were transmitted to the Senate by the President on the 20th of 



2 STEUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

December last, in answer to their resolution of the 8th of December, and 
which are numbered in the synoptical list numbers 47 to 121 inclusive. 

III. Extracts from the correspondence between this department ^tul 
the following consular representatives of the United States : 

Mr. La Eeintrie, who performed consular duties at Havana until March 
4, 1869. 

Mr. Hall, consul at Matanzas, transferred temporarily to Havana, 
December 1, 1869. 

Mr. Phillips, acting- vice-consul at Santiago de Cuba. 

These several extracts are numbered from 122 to 129 inclusive, in the 
synoptical list. 

Eespectfully submitted. 

HAMILTON FISH. 

The President . 



J 



SYNOPTICAL LIST OF PAPERS. 



I.— EXTRACTS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN" THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE 
AND THE LEGATION OE THE UNITED STATES AT MADRID. 



No. 



From whom and 
to whom. 



Date. 



Subject. 



Mr. Fish to Gen. 
Sickles. 



June 19, 1869, 
No. 2. 



.do 



10 



Gen. Sickles to 

Mr. Davis. 
Mr. Fish to Gen. 

Sickles. 

Gen. Sickles to 

Mr. Fish. 
do 



June 19, 1869, 
No. 3. 



..do.. 
..do.. 



-do 



.do 



July 27, 1869. 

Telegram. 
July 29, 1869. 

Telegram. 

July 31, 186'), 
Telegram. 

Aug. 1,1869, 
Telegram. 



Aug. 6, 1869 
Aug. 12, 1869 



Aug. 12, 1869 



Aug. 13, 1869, 
Telegram. 



The insurrection in Cuba is causing great devastation, and 
will result, if continued, in the destruction of the produc- 
tive capacity of the island. Reasons why the United States 
have a peculiar interest in the fortunes and prosperity of 
the island. Contest one for self-government and freedom. 
Self-government for every part of the American hemi- 
sphere and freedom from transatlantic rule a growing sen- 
timent in the United States. This has been recognized by 
other powers. Spain may, with honor, recognize it, and 
treat for the surrender of her rights in Cuba. General 
Sickles instructed to offer good offices of United States to 
terminate civil war on the basis of independence ; the pay- 
ment of an equivalent to Spain by Cuba; abolition of 
slavery, and armistice pending negotiations ; negotiations 
to be conducted at Washington. This dispatch to be read, 
at earliest opportunity, to minister, and copy left with him. 

If, in tendering good offices under previous instructions, the 
use of the term " civil war" be objected to, say that it has 
been used advisedly. Should the offer be refused, and 
should the condition of parties not be changed, the United 
States may be forced to recognize a condition of belliger- 
ency. Cautioned to observe delicacy on this point, so as 
not to wound sensibilities of government, ministers, or peo- 
ple of Spain. May receive propositions concerning Porto 
Rico, if Spain makes them. Mr. Paul Forbes will meet 
General Sickles in Madrid and advise with him in these 
negotiations. 

His arrival and presentation. Favorable appearance of 
things. 

Early decision important. No protection of life of our citi- 
zens in Cuba. Do not connect Cuba and Porto Rico in 
negotiations. 

Good offices offered. Discussion limited by minister to over- 
ture. See Prim to-morrow. 

Basis communicated to Prim. He asked how much Cuba 
and Porto Rico would give. Answered, no instructions ; 
suggested $125,000,000. Prim said preliminaries might be 
arranged after cessation of hostilities. 

Illness of secretary of state has delayed answer 

Interview with Mr. Silvela, July 31. (See No. 5, above.) In- 
formal offer of good offices. Minister replies, acknowledg- 
ing fidelity of United States in fulfilling their international 
obligations. Spain grateful therefor. When pro-slavery 
party in power there was danger of trouble from reckless- 
ness of filibusters. Since victory of national cause the 
liberal people of Spain regard United States as their 
national friend. The Spanish liberals, who executed the 
Spanish revolution, desire to give liberal institutions to 
Cuba, but the fatality of the situation makes it impossible 
while the insurrection continues. Would be gratified at 
a settlement that would not infringe upon the honor of 
Spain. Will report conversation to his colleagues. 

Literview with General Prim. (See No. 6, above.) Proposi- 
tions of the United States already communicated to Gen- 
eral Prim by Mr. Forbes. General Prim answered, that 
armistice would not be granted, nor would Spain consider 
question of independence while insurgents were in arms ; 
full amnesty will be granted when insurgents lay down 
arms. Question of emancipation would be left to Cubans. 
Conference at Washington not favored. Cuba would be 
heard through her deputies in the Cortes. Spain would 
treat only with United States. Subject would be brought 
before council. 

General Prim authorizes General Sickles to say that good 
offices are accepted. Spain suggests for basis— 1. Arms 
to be laid down by insurgents. 2. Simultaneous amnesty. 
3. Popular vote in Cuba on independence. 4. Inde- 
pendence granted by Spain through Cortes on receipt of 
indemnity guaranteed by United States. 



4 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 
Synoptical list of papers — Continued. 



No. 



From whom and 
to whom. 



Date. 



Subject. 



13 



14 



15 



16 



Gen. Sickles to 
Mr. Fish. 



Mr. Fish to Gen. 
Sickles. 



Aug. 14, 1869, 
No. 6. 



Aug. 16, 1869, 
Telegram. 



Gen. Sickles to Ang.16, 1869, 
Mr. Fish. No. 8. 



.do. 



.do... 



.do . 



17 Mr. Fish to Gen. 
Sickles. 



18 



20 



21 



Gen. Sickles to 
Mi-. Fish. 



Mr. Fish to Gen. 
Sickles. 



Gen. Sickles to 
Mr. Fish. 



.do 



Aug. 20, 1869. 
No. 9. 



Aug. 20, 1869, 
Telegram. 



Aug. 21, 1869, 
No. 10. 



Aug. 24, 1869, 
Telegram. 



Aug. 24, 1869, 
No. 12. 



Sept. 1, 1869, 
Telegram. 



Sept. 4, 1869, 
Telegram. 

Sept. 5,1869, 
No. 14. 



Transmits an account of an interview with Mr. Silvela, and 
a copy of article 108 of the Spanish constitution. Mr. Sil- 
vela regards the proposition of the United States as con- 
flicting with article 108. He expresses the views of the 
administration. General Sickles expresses his regret, and 
fears that the complications will soon be beyond control. 
General Prim is in advance of his colleagues. 

Spanish propositions to insurgents to lay down arms, and to 
Cubans to vote, impracticable. Urge acceptance of United 
States propositions. 

Details of interview with General Prim. (See No. 10, above.) 
General Prim says his colleagues do not realize difficulty 
of carrying on war in America. He would say to Cuba, 
"Make good the treasure you have cost and go." Defiant 
attitude of insurgents the great difficulty. So power can 
obtain concessions from Spanish people while the rebellion 
maintains its footing. General Sickles combats these views. 
The telegram of the 13th submitted to the council and ap- 
proved by them. 

Interview with General Prim. Communicates views in Mr. 
Fish's telegram. (See No. 12, above.) General Prim says 
cessation of hostilities not a preliminary to negotiations 
with United States, but no treaty can be made while insur- 
gents in aims. He recognizes inevitable termination of 
colonial relations in America, but Spain cannot be recon- 
ciled to that till hostilities cease. General Sickles replies 
that Spain is not asked to treat with insurgents, but with 
a friendly power and old ally. Prim replies that United 
States may be assured of good faith of Spain, but that 
insurrection has not assumed proportions which can re- 
quire a government to treat during hostilities. The insur- 
gents hold no port or ships, and have no army that offers 
or accepts battle. General Sickles thinks that General 
Prim wishes to come to an agreement with United States, 
and will not object to independence of Cuba. 

Account of same interview. Armistice impossible. Eman- 
cipation cannot be separated from other questions. Com- 
munication with insurgents will be permitted after agree- 
ment with United States. 

A further account of the same interview. General Prim's 
views stated more at length. He proposes — 1. Settlement 
of basis of agreement. 2. United States to counsel its 
acceptance by Cubans. 3. Cessation of hostilities and am- 
nesty. 4. Election of deputies. 5. Action of the Cortes. 
6. Plebiscit and independence. General Sickles thinks 
that the Spanish cabinet are sincere in their desire to make 
an arrangement with the United States. 

Propositions of Spain are impracticable. Representatives 
of the insurgent government are necessary parties to nego- 
tiation. If insurgents are disarmed, volunteers should be 
disarmed and disbanded. An armistice will prevent de- 
struction of life, property, and outrages upon American 
citizens, and make opportunity to settle terms of compen- 
sation to be made to Spain by Cuba. Spain may, in honor, 
grant armistice, which is indispensable to success of nego- 
tiation. 

Spanish journals speak of insurrection as likely to be suc- 
cessful. Discussion stimulated by agents of Americans 
who have undertaken to purchase Cuba as a private enter- 
prise. Minister of finance well disposed to separation. 
Less susceptibility to a transfer to the United States than 
to independence. 

United States propose for basis — 1. Armistice. 2. Payment 
by Cuba for public property taken. No guarantee by 
United States without approval by Congress. 3. Persons 
and property of Spaniards in Cuba to be protected. Offers 
to be withdrawn if not accepted before October 1. 

Has communicated formally propositions and asked for early 
and decisive answer. Spanish government solicitous as 
to gunboats. 

Transmits copy of General Sickles's formal note to Mr. Be- 
cerra with the propositions of the United States. Mr. 
Becerra remonstrates against detention of gunboats. Gen- 
eral Sickles replies that he has no instructions on the sub- 
ject. Mr. Becerra agrees with General Prim as to the 
'future of Cuba, but Spain cannot with honor treat with 
insurgents with arms in their hands. General Sickles's 
note to Mr. Becerra, dated September 3. recapitulates pre- 
vious negotiations, presents the considerations contained 
in Mr. Fish's instructions, (See No. 1 ;) also the proposi- 
tions of the United States ; says that the time is approach- 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Synoptical list of papers — Continued. 



No. 



From whom and 
to whom. 



Date. 



Subject. 



I rt 



22 



Gen. Sickles to 
Mr. Fish— Con. 



Gen. Sickles to 
Mr. Fish. 



Sept. 5, 1869. 
No. 14. 

Sept. 8, 1869, 
No. 15. 



Mr. Fish to Gen. Sept. 11, 1869, 

Sickles. Telegram. 

Gen. Sickles to Sept. 14, 1869, 

Mr. Fish. Telegram. 



.do 



26 



Mr. Fish to Gen. 
Sickles. 



Gen. Sickles to 

Mr. Fish. 
do. 



Sept. 14, 1869, 
No. 17. 



.do 



Mr. Fish to Gen. 
Sickles. 



Gen. Sickles to 

Mr. Fish. 
do 



Sept. 15, 1869, 
Telegram. 



Sept. 16, 1869, 
Telegram. 

Sept. 17, 1869, 
Telegram. 

Sept. 19, 1869, 
No. 19. 



Sept, 23, 1869, 
Telegram. 



Sept. 25, 1869, 

No. 21. 
Sept. 25, 1869, 

No. 22. 



ing when the recognition of the parties as belligerents can- 
not be delayed, and asks to be informed as soon as possible 
of the decision of the Spanish government. 

Incloses his note to Mr. Becerra in relation to Charles Speak- 
man and Albert Wyetk, executed at Santiago de Cuba. 
A protest against such deplorable excesses. Spanish gov- 
ernment having allowed the purport of Mr. Sickles's note 
tendering good offices to get out, it has been accepted as 
indicating the purpose of United States to recognize the 
Cubans as belligerents if the mediation of the United States 
be refused. Excitement resulting from this announcement 
and its effect on public opinion Communication by letter 
with General Prim in regard to the urgency of the subject. 
Political situation and reason for unfriendly tone of mon- 
archical journals in Spain; this tone not shared by repub- 
licans. 

Hopes there is no truth in rumor that Spain is about to send 
more troops to Cuba, 

Additional troops will go. Great excitement. General belief 
that United States will soon acknowledge state of bellig- 
erency. 

Interview with Mr. Becerra, He denies that Spain has 
opened negotiations with European powers on the subject 
of Mr. Sickles's note of 3d September. Says government 
cannot act on it before the meeting of the Cortes. States 
in reply to expression of regret, that Spain sends more 
troops to Cuba, That Cuban question is a domestic one, 
and that Spain must restore order in Cuba by force of 
arms. She will also extend to the island the reforms 
enjoyed in the peninsula: an amnesty will be granted, 
preparations made for election of deputies in Cuba, whose 
advice will be sought in future reforms, including abolition 
of slavery. Spain" accepts good offices but not the bases 
proposed by United States. Mediation incompatible with. 
the honor of Spain. Permanent committee of Cortes voted 
unanimously that independence of Cuba was inadmissible 
as a basis of negotiation. Any alienation of Spanish ter- 
ritory, without "consent of Cortes, would be unconstitu- 
tional. 'Withdrawal of Mr. Sickles's note of 3d of Sep- 
tember is requested. Difficulties in the way of an armis- 
tice. Captain . General has been requested to report in 
relation to execution of Speakman and Wyeth, and if 
facts proved as alleged, reparation will be made and such 
cruelty in future pre vented. These are believed to be the 
views of the Spanish cabinet, 

H negotiation on basis of six successive steps, omitting 
plebiscit, were opened, can United States be assured that 
if insurgents lay down arms and elect deputies, Cortes 
will recognize independence of Cuba? Doubtful whether 
fair vote can be obtained in island or whether insiu'gents 
will lay down arms unless independence be assured. 

Account of same interview described in No. 25, above 



Mr. Fish's dispatch of 15th received. General Prim expected* 
soon. Asks further information as to gunboats and recog- 
nition of belligerency. 

Spanish temper such that General Sickles has not thought 
wise to say that he was authorized to withdraw offers of 
good offices, nor to make new suggestions. Incloses 
plans for reforms in Porto Bico, including abolition of 
slavery. Cruel manner in which war is "carried on is 
denounced by president of Cortes and by General Concha. 

May withdraw offer of good offices, if not acceptable to 
Spain. Gunboats detained at request of Peru. No steps 
yet taken toward recognition of belligerency. Will be 
recognized when necessities of the case and complications 
of controversy force it upon us. 

The reasons for his course in addressing a formal offer of 
good offices to the Spanish goverment. 

Interviews with Mr. Silvela on the 23d, and with General 
Prim. Mr. Silvela spoke of an expedition from Cedar 
Keys. General Sickles claimed that the United States had 
done their whole duty as neutrals. Mr. Silvela admitted 
that they had, notwithstanding the escape of the expedi- 
tion. Mr. Silvela complains of the detention of the gun- 
boats. General Sickles has no instructions on the subject. 
General Prim thinks that the excitement has advanced 
public opinion upon the subject of Cuba. Eeiterates the 
necessity of settling the question in harmony with Span- 
his constitution. Orders have been given Captain General 
to disarm volunteers, and to stop scandalous executions. 



6 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA, 

Synoptical list of papers — Continued. 



No. 



From whom and 
to whom. 



Date. 



Subject. 



Gen. Sickles to 
Mi-. Fish— Con. 



Sept. 25, 1869. 
No. 22. 



37 



Gen. Sickles to 

Mr. Fish. 
Mr. Fish to Gen. 

Sickles. 
Gen. Sickles to 

Mr. Fish. 

do 



do 

da 

do 



Sept. 29, 1869, 

No. 23. 
Oct. 12,1869 

No. 10, 
Oct. 16, 1869, 

No. 26. 

Oct. 16, 1869, 
No. 27. 



Nov. 3,1869, 
No. 31. 



Nov. 14, 1869, 

No. 33. 
Nov. 17, 1869, 

No. 34. 



do 
do 
do 



Dec. 3,1869, 

No. 37. 
Dec. 5,1869, 

No. 38. 
Dec. 29, 1869, 

No. 46. 



Mr. Fish to Gen. 

Sickles. 
do 



Gen. Sickles to 

Mr. Fish. 
Mr. Fish to Gen. 
Sickles. 



Dec. 30, 1869, 

No. 20. 
Jan. 7,1870, 

No. 22. 

Jan. 9,1870, 

Telegram. 

Jan. 26, 1870, 

No. 26. 



He reiterates assurances that liberal reforms shall be 
granted. Ho complains of detention of gunboats. Gen- 
eral Sickles explains that it is done at request of Peru. 
General Prim says Spain is not at war with Peru. Gen- 
eral Sickles says he is authorized to withdraw the offer of 
good offices ; before doing so, wishes to know if any modi- 
fication that can be made by United States will be accept- 
able to Spain. General Prim thinks not ; prefers the with- 
drawal ; thinks the time will soon come when Spain will de- 
sire good offices of United States, and will then indicate 
bases. General Sickles said he should withdraw the offer. 

Transmitting copies of telegrams relating to foregoing inter- 
views. 

Reasons for the detention of the Spanish gunboats 



Transmitting a copy of General Sickles's official note with- 
drawing the offer of the good offices of the United States ; 
and also a copy of Mr. Silvela's reply to that note. 

Same subject. Mr. Silvela's original reply to General Sick- 
les's note withdrawing the offer of good offices regarded 
the note itself as withdrawn. General Sickles refused to 
receive such a note, and the reply was so modified as to 
state that the offer of good offices was withdrawn. 

Ministerial changes. Spanish politics. Commission for 
reforms in Porto Pico dissolved. Reasons given therefor. 
Cuban question not mentioned in Cortes. Troops continue 
to be sent to Havana. 

Reforms in Porto Pico 



General Sickles dines with the president of the Cortes. 
Meets secretaries of state and of the colonies, Mr. Silvela, 
and others. Mr. Martos, Mr. Becerra, and Mr. Bivos, each 
said the remarks to General Sickles were to be considered 
official as well as personal. He therefore reports them. 
It was said that Spain desired intimate relations with 
United States ; would extend free institutions to Cuba ; 
that Cubans were prepared for free institutions ; that the 
government had been asked to order immediate elections 
tor Cortes in Cuba, but had refused because the native 
population could not participate ; that the Cuban question 
could not be considered in Cortes while Cuba was in rebel- 
lion ; but that the government were prepared to recom- 
mend the largest liberties. General Sickles tu'ged the 
immediate promulgation of their plan as the best way to 
terminate hostilities. In reply, they said the war would 
soon be ended. The propriety of an armistice was dis- 
cussed; it was regarded as impracticable. They stated 
that the Cuban question will be settled when war is 
ended on bases of self-government and commercial reci- 
procity, and that slavery will be gradually abolished. 
The native Cubans were a majority of the inhabitants, 
and their wishes ought to be respected in the determina- 
tion which the government should make. They desire the 
President to know that Spain is no longer governed by 
reactionary and antiquated ideas of the Bourbons. 

Inclosing telegrams concerning reforms in Porto Bico, and 
concerning gunboats. 

Total nuniberof Spanish troops in Cuba 



Transmitting further statements as to the " army of Cuba." 
Anxiety in Spain as to the course of the United States. 
Winter campaign regarded as a failure. Despondency 
apparent in all except official circles. Views of the press. 
British minister instructed to second General Sickles's 
efforts to secure abolition of slavery. He replies that 
what he had said was \inofficial and so understood by the 
cabinet. Changes in Porto Bico to include abolition of 
slavery. This may decrease in Cuba the resistance to 
independence. 

Satisfaction at news of reforms in Spanish colonial policy 
contained in General Sickles's No. 36. (See No. 39, above.) 

It is stated by Mr. Lopez Boberts that only persons 
imprisoned for political offenses are enlisted for service in 
Cuba. No ordinary criminals are so enlisted. 

Sees no objection to the publication of all his correspond- 
ence. Prefers it should all be communicated. 

Public interest in Cuban affairs decreased since flagrant 
violations of law by insurgents. Instructed to report 
opinion at Madrid as to campaign in Cuba. This govern- 
ment has maintained its freedom of action against great 
pressure. Its action will be governed by facts as they 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 7 

Synoptical list of papers — Continued. 



No. 



From whom and 
to whom. 



Date. 



Subject. 



Mr. Fish to Gen. 
Sickles — Con. 



Jan. 26, 1870, 
No. 26. 



occur. President reserves complete liberty of action in 
case Spain fails to restore peace. This department insists 
upon the abolition of slavery. It regards the government 
ol Madrid as committed to that. 



II.— CORRESPONDENCE AND PAPERS TRANSMITTED TO THE SENATE DECEMBER 20, 

1869. 



53 



58 



Mr. Hall to Mr. 
Seward. 



.do 
.do 



Mr. Hall to Mr. 

"Washburne. 
Mr. Hall to Mr. 

Hunter. 



Mr. Pish to Mr. 
Lopez Roberts. 



Mr. Hall to Mr. 
Pish. 



Mr. Lopez Rob- 
erts to Mr.Pish. 



Mr. Pish to Mr. 
Lopez Roberts. 



Mr. HaU to Mr. 

Pish. 
Mr. Pish to Mr. 

Lopez Roberts. 



Mr. Hall to Mr. 
Pish. 



Nov. 18, 1868, 
No. 82. 



Dec. 17, 1868, 

No. 83. 
Peb. 25, 1869, 

No. 89! 

Mar. 11, 1869, 

No. 4. 
Mar. 27, 1869, 

No. 17. 



Apr. 3,1869 



Apr. 2,1869, 
No. 22. 



Apr. 5, 1869 



Apr. 17, 1869 



Apr. 22, 1869, 

No. 33. 
Apr. 30. 1869 



Apr. 30, 1869, 
No. 37. 



Quotes the views of a conservative Cuban, viz : News of 
Spanish revolution enthusiastically received in Cuba. 
Views of Cubans as to slavery are diverse — some desire 
immediate abolition of it ; some gradual ; some its continu- 
ance. The insurrection in the eastern and central depart- 
ments is formidable. Mr. Hall adds that good order pre- 
vails in his department. 

Insurrection gaining strength. Condition at Matanzas. 
General distrust and paralysis. 

Transmitting letter from consular agent at Sagua la Grande. 
State of things there much exaggerated. Details of move- 
ments. 

Transmitting what purports to be a decree of the insurgents' 
assembly abolishing slavery. 

Transmitting decree of Captain General authorizing capture 
on the high seas of vessels carrying men, arms, munitions, 
or effects in aid of insurgents, and directing execution as 
pirates of persons so captured. 

Calling attention to Captain General's decree of March 24, 
and informing him that United States citizens have the 
right to carry on the high seas articles destined for the 
enemies of Spain, subject to seizure of such as may be con- 
traband of war, or to capture for violation of a lawfully 
established blockade. Persistence in the decree will en- 
danger friendly relations. 

Transmitting letter from Remedios, and saying that majority 
of American merchants agree with the writer, who states 
that American-born citizens are well treated by the Span- 
ish authorities, do not favor the insurrection, and think it 
cannot succeed. 

Attempts are made by false and exaggerated statements and 
public meetings to create sentiment in favor of Cuba. Per- 
sons in New York style themselves " the independent gov- 
ernment of Cuba," and dispatch expeditions and arms in 
aid of the insurgents. He asks for a proclamation similar 
to that issued by Mr. Fillmore April 5, 1851. 

Does not perceive the necessity or propriety of issuing such 
proclamation. "When Mr. Fillmore's proclamation was 
issued peace prevailed in Cuba, but an armed invasion was 
threatened from the United States. Now a portion of the 
people of Cuba are in insurrection to redress alleged 
wrongs, and no expeditions are leaving the United States. 
Mr. Roberts admits that whenever called upon the officers 
of the United States have interfered effectively to prevent 
violation of law. United States still, suffering from effects 
of precipitate recognition of belligerent rights, and will not 
depart from their traditional policy. The sympathy of the 
United States is with people striving to secure right of 
self-government, and with all efforts to free this continent 
from transatlantic control, but they desire to maintain 
friendly relations with governments still claiming control 
over neighboring possessions. They will not abridge the 
right of free discussion, but will limit their interference 
to preventing unlawful acts in infraction of their obliga- 
tions to Spain and other friendly powers. 

Transmitting decree of April 1, 1869, prohibiting alienation 
of property except with the assent of the government. 

The President has seen with regret the decree of April 1, 
forbidding alienation of property in Cuba. Hopes it may 
be modified so as not to be applicable to property of citi- 
zens of the United States. 

Transmitting Count Valmaseda's proclamation of April 4, 
that every man over fifteen years of age found away from 
home may be shot ; that every unoccupied house and every 
house not flying a white flag may be burned ; and that 
women not living at home or with their relatives may be 
carried forcibly to Jiguani or Bayamo ; also informing the 
department that Count Valnxaseda was moving his forces 
into the country. 



8 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Synoptical list of papers — Continued. 



From whom and 
to whom. 



Date. 



Subject. 



Mr. Fish to Mr. 

Lopez Roberts. 
Mr. Fish to Mr. 

Hale. 
Mr. Hall to Mr. 

Davis. 
Mr. Plumb to 

Mr. Fish. 



Mr. Plumb to 

Mi'. Fish. 
Mr. Hall to Mr. 

Fish. 
Mr. Plumb to 

Mr. Fish. 



Mr. Plumb to 
Mr. Fish. 

Mr. Phillips to 

Mr. Fish. 
do 



Mr. Plumb to 

Mr. Fish. 
Mr. Davis to Mr. 

Plumb. 
Mr. Fish to Gen. 

Sickles. 



Gen. Sickles to 

Mr. Fish. 
do 



. do 



Mr. Plumb 
Mr. Fish. 



.do 



Mr. Fish to Mr. 
Lopez Roberts. 



May 10, 1869 

May 11, 1869, 

No. 58. 
May 18, 1869, 

No. 56. 
May 28, 1869, 

No. 15. 



June 2, 1869, 

No. 20. 
June 3, 1869, 

No. 95. 
June 4, 1869, 

No. 23. 



June 24, 1869, 
No. 49. 



June 19, 1869 
June 25, 1869 



June 29,1869, 

No. 57. 
July 7, 1869, 

No. 20. 
Aug. 10, 1869, 

No. 9. 



Sept. 8,1869, 

No. 15. 
Sept. 14, 1869, 

No. 17. 
Nov. 2,1869, 

No. 29. 

June 29, 1869, 
No. 56. 

July 8,1869, 
No. 66. 



July 16, 1869 



Protesting, in the interests of civilization and humanity, 
against Count Valmaseda's proclamation. 

Directing him to make representations to the Spanish gov- 
ernment against Count Valmaseda's proclamation. 

Transmitting a letter giving an account of military opera- 
tions near Nuevitas. 

Transmitting copy of authorization of loan of eight millions 
of dollars in Havana for suppressing insurrection. This 
money is understood to be nearly exhausted. The princi- 
ple recognized that Cuba is to bear the expenses arising 
from the situation; also transmitting copy of decree of 
Captain General authorizing seizure of horses. 

The volunteers have forced General Dulce to resign 

Lawless conduct of volunteers at Matanzas, 



Deposition of the Captain-General. The insurgents are 
mostly Creoles. Spanish residents, with their business and 
property identified with the island, are dissatisfied with the 
conduct of the government ; they wish the war ended. 
Those who conduct the war and hold the offices are sent 
out from Spain and have no interest in the island. 
Spanish residents, though disagreeing as to future, have 
deposed General Dulce. They may do the same with new 
Captain General if dissatisfied. Volunteers number about 
30,000 on the island— 10,000 in Havana— are unpaid and 
furnish their own arms. Government depends upon them 
to enforce its decrees. The organization officered by men 
of position ; men in ranks reckless. Volunteers intensely 
loyal at present. Reported negotiations between Captain 
General and Cubans ; violence of volunteers ; collisions 
and insubordination; account of events that preceded 
resignation of General Dulce. Mr. Plumb's speculations 
upon what may follow. 

Inclosing letter from Mr. Phillips, acting consul at Santiago 
de Cuba, giving information of the summary execution of 
Charles Speakman, a citizen of the United States. 

Same subject, inclosing declaration of Speakman 



Transmitting information about summary execution at San- 
tiago de Cuba of Albert "Wyeth, an American citizen, with 
Wyeth' s statement about himself and Speakman. 

Same subject , 



A vessel of war will proceed to Santiago de Cuba, to investi- 
gate cases of Speakman and "Wyeth. 

Instructing him to demand compensation for the families of 
Speakman and Wyeth; to require that citizens of the 
"United States shall be invested with as broad rights as 
those of other countries ; and to protest in the name of the 
President against longer carrying on war in this barbarous 
manner. 

Inclosing copy of his note to Mr. Becerra as to Speakman 
and "Wyeth, <fcc, under instruction No. 9, (ante, No. 71.) 

Report has been called for in cases of Speakman and Wyeth. 
Reparation will be made if facts are found as alleged. 

Inclosing copy of Mr. Silvela's note as to Speakman and 
"Wyeth, and of his rejoinder. Spanish minister says Speak- 
man was executed in conformity with law. 

Transmitting letter from consular agent at Nuevitas, giving 
account of capture of Spanish force by insurgents, and 
progress of events. 

Inclosing Captain General's decree of July 7, closing certain 
ports, declaring voyages with arms, ammunition, or crew 
for the insurgents' illegal, and directing cruisers on the 
high seas to exercise the rights stipulated for by the treaty 
of 1795 with the United States, and to bring into port ves- 
sels found enemies. 

Calling attention to proclamation of Captain General of 
July 7, as to rights claimed over vessels of the United 
States on the high seas, under the treaty of 1795, &c. ' It 
assumes power over the commerce of the United States 
that can only be permitted in time of war. United States 
will not yield right to carry contraband of war in time of 
peace ; will not permit their vessels to be interfered with 
on the high seas except in time of war. Treaty of 1795 
confers no rights over vessels of the United State's in time 
of peace. It Spain is at war it should be known, in order 
that notice be immediately given of the restrictions that 
such state entails upon the commerce of the United 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 9 

Synoptical list of papers — Continued. 



No. 



From -whom, and 
to whom. 



Date. 



Subject. 



Mr. Pish to Mr. 
Lopez Roberts. 
— Continued. 



Mr. Plumb 

Mr. Pish. 

do 



to 



93 



Gen. Sickles to 
Mr. Pish. 



Mr. Plumb to 
Mr. Davis. 

Gen. Sickles to 
Mr. Pish. 

do 

do 

de 

Mr. Plumb to 

Mr. Davis. 
do 

do 

.....do 

do 

do 



Mr. Roberts to 
Mr. Pish. 



Mr. Pish to Mr. 
Lopez Roberts. 



July 16, 1869 



July 21, 1869. 

No. 83. 
July 13, 1869, 

No. 75. 
Aug. 12, 1869. 

No. 4. 



Aug. 18, 1869, 

No. 115. 
Aug. 14, 1869, 
. No. 6. 

Aug. 20, 1869, 
No. 9. 

Aug. 21, 1869, 

No. 10. 
Aug. 24, 1869, 

No. 12. 
Aug. 21, 1869, 

No. 119. 
Aug. 24, 1869, 

No. 123. 
Aug. 26, 1869, 

No. 127. 
Aug. 27, 1869, 

No. 129. 

Aug. 31, 1869, 

No. 135. 

Sept. 1, 1869, 

No. 139. 

Sept. 18,1869, 



Oct. 13, 1869 



States. Mr. Pish asks whether Spain recognizes a state 
of war as existing, and states that a continuance of the 
decree or any attempt to enforce it will be regarded as a 
recognition by Spain of a state of war with Cuba. 

Transmitting modifications of Captain General's decree of 
July 7, as to search of vessels on the high seas. 

Transmitting general order of the Captain General for con- 
duct of the war with more humanity. 

Conversation with Spanish minister, in which he states the 
wish of the liberal party in Spain to confer upon Cuba 
free institutions ; the insurrection, unfortunately, pre- 
vented it. 

The accounts in the United States favorable to the insurrec- 
tion are exaggerated. 

Incloses article 108 of Spanish constitution about Cuba. 
Mr. Silvela regards it as preventing action upon Cuba till 
Cuban deputies arrive at, the Cortes. 

General Prim states to Mr. Sickles that Cuban insurgents 
hold no city or fortress, port or ships, and have no army 
that offers battle. 

Reasons why General Prim thinks the Cuban insurgents are 
not in a condition to negotiate. 

Spain more willing to transfer Cuba to the United States 
than to concede independence. 

Transmitting information about the murder of twenty prom- 
inent citizens of Santiago de Cuba at Jiguani. 

Same subject 



"With abstracts of the several decrees for the embargo of 
property. 

The insurgents have resolved upon a general destruction of 
property, and especially the destruction of sugar estates. 
This will entail great loss on citizens of the United States. 

Transmitting a decree said to have been issued by the insur- 
gents on the 4th May, 1869, for the conduct of the war. 

Transmitting communication from consular agent at Man- 
zanillo as to affairs in that quarter, and murders at Santi- 
ago de Cuba. 

Belligerent rights to the Cubans. The United States are ap- 
parently on the eve of granting them. The doctrine as 
always held by the United States, and set forth by Mr. C. 
P.Adams and Mr. Sumner, stated. Mr. R. H. Dana quoted. 
Cubans have no ships, ports, or prize courts. Their army 
a band roaming in the eastern department. Policy of 
Spain in 1861 compared with what Mr. Roberts imagines 
to be the contemplated policy of the United States. Mr. 
Perry and Mr. Schurz cited. Malcontent Cubans in the 
United States have organized attacks on Spain ; have en- 
listed men, emigrants even. Expeditions have openly left 
New York without interference, and Mr. Roberts has been 
obliged, by apathy of authorities, to initiate proceedings. 
Extravagant demonstrations in the country echoed by 
the press. Cuban emissaries have boasted of private offi- 
cial information. In this connection Mr. Roberts quotes 
from Mr. Dallas. "Why do Cuban agents ask recognition ? 
Because they need aid of the United States. Quotes again 
from Mr. Adams. 

Mr. Roberts's letter of September 18 not received till Septem- 
ber 25, on which day Mr. Pish left "Washington on tempo- 
rary absence. Might be sufficient answer" to say that no 
intention to grant Delligerent rights has been announced. 
More perfect answer to say that no such intention has been 
reached by the United States. Mr. Pish pleased that Mr. 
Roberts draws his authorities from the history and states- 
men of the United States. Mr. Roberts has contrasted the 
course of Spain in 1861 with that of the United States, and 
says that Spain could not do otherwise than she did by 
reason of her geographical position. Spain conceded bel- 
ligerency to the South sixty-six days after assault on Sum- 
ter— a bloodless combat. Mr. Pish admits the weight of 
the argument from geographical position. The geographi- 
cal position of Cuba considered, also the prolongation of 
the contest, the number of combats, the number of the 
killed, position of parties in Cuba as compared with parties 
in the United States in 1861. Riquelme quoted to prove 
that foreign intervention may be made in interest of hu- 
manity. The United States have frequently remonstrated 
in this interest against the manner in which this contest 
is waged. The United States have hitherto acted on their 
well-established policy. The present state cannot be in- 



116 
117 
118 

119 
119 

120 

120 
121 
121 
123 
124 
126 

127 
129 

130 



10 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Synoptical list of papers — Continued. 



From whom and 
to whom. 



Mr. Fisk to Mr. 
Lopez Roberts 
— Continued. 



Gen. Sickles to 
Mr. Fish. 



Mr. Plumb 

Mi-. Fisb. 

do 



Mr. Plumb to 
Mr. Fisb. 



Gen. Sickles to 
Mr. Fisb. 



.da 



Mr. Davis to 
Mr. Plumb. 

Mr. Plumb to 
Mr. Davis. 



Mr. Plumb to 
Mr. Fisb. 



Mr. Plumb to 
Mr. Davis. 



Mr. Fisb to 
Mr. Plumb. 

Mr. Plumb to 

Mr. Fisb. 
do 



Gen. Sickles to 
Mr. Fisb. 



Mr. Plumb to 

Mr. Davis. 
do 



Mr. Plumb to 
Mr. Fisb. 

Mr. Plumb to 

Mr. Davis. 
do 



.do 



Gen. Sickles to 
Mr. Fish. 



Date. 



Oct. 13, 18C9 



Sept. 19, 1869, 
No. 19. 



Sept. 16, 1869 

Sept. 20, 1869, 
No. 156. 

Sept, 21, 1869, 
No. 159. 



Sept. 25, 1869, 
No. 52. 



Sept. 25, 1869, 
Telegram. 



Sept. 28, 1869, 

No. 46. 
Oct. 21, 1869, 

No. 193. 



Sept. 27, 1869, 
No. 167. 

Oct, 15, 1869, 
No. 181. 



Oct. 25, 1869, 
No. 63. 

Nov. 17, 1869, 
No. 225. 

Nov. 20, 1869, 
No. 230. 

Oct. 16, 1869, 
No. 26. 



Oct. 26, 1869, 
No. 195. 

Oct, 26, 1869, 
No. 196. 

Oct. 15, 1869, 
No. 183. 

Nov. 2, 1869, 
No. 207. 

Nov. 2, 1869, 
No. 208. 

Nov. 4, 1869, 
No. 211. 

Nov. 3,1869, 
No. 31. 



Subject. 



definitely prolonged. The United States reserve right of 
future action. Many of Mr. Roberts's complaints are 
founded upon misapprehension of spirit of our institutions. 
The United States offer an asylum to the oppressed, and 
give freedom of speech and of action, restricted only by 
observance of the rights of others and maintenance of pub- 
lic peace ; within those bounds all may assemble — malcon- 
tent Cubans and subjects of Spain. Unlawful expeditions 
have been planned, aud, in one case, did succeed without 
attracting notice ; but the United States have always been 
ready (as Mr. Roberts was informed) to act on information 
furnished by him, and have acted on such information, even 
when it has proved erroneous. 

Inclosing a decree for organization of commission for reforms 
in Porto Rico, including abolition of slavery. The cruel 
mode of warfare in Cuba will be early considered in the 
Cortes. 

Incloses a copy of the constitution of the Cuban republic 

Formation of the volunteer reserve corps. Time come for 
all to define positions. 

People of Havana begin to read newspapers and think upon 
current events. Ten thousand young men enrolled as 
volunteers in Havana, and daily read the papers. A sketch 
of the kind of reading thus furnished. 

General Prim does not~intend to have re-enacted the scenes 
that took place under General Dulce. Orders given to pre- 
vent repetition of barbarities. General Sickles recom- 
mended cartels. General Prim said it was necessary to 
move cautiously. 

Volunteers to be' disbanded when hostilities cease. Scan- 
dalous executions to be stopped ; slavery to be gradually 
abolished; liberal reforms to be granted without wait- 
ing for termination of war. 

Transmits substance of General Sickles's telegram, (anteQ9,) 
and instructs liim to inquire and report upon same. 

Does not think disarmament of volunteers practicable. 
Reasons why it is not. Sees no evidence of intention to 
cease hostilities before insurrection is suppressed. The 
rulers in Cuba wish well to island and desire to stop effusion 
of blood. General opinion that abolition should be gradual ; 
none think it should be deferred over five years. 

Transmitting an account from Mr. Hall of the violent and 
illegal conduct of the volunteers at Matanzas, and a copy 
of a decree of the governor relating thereto. 
^Transmitting copy of a decree of Captain General, dated 
September 28, 1869, concerning passenger vessels and pas- 
sengers. Mr. Plumb objected to it and secured the modifi- 
cations published October 13, of which copies are inclosed. 

Mr. Plumb instructed to protest against the decree and rules 
for enforcing same, contained in his number 181, (ante,) so 
far as concerns passenger vessels of the United States. 

The decree, (see ante 103 and 104,) not intended to refer to 
passengers in transit, will be modified. 

Inclosing modification of decree as to passenger vessels. 
(Ante 105.) 

Transmitting copy of decree giving liberty of worship in 
Cuba. Also a copy of Mr. Silve'la's note desiring the Pres- 
ident to use his influence with Cuban refugees to secure 
less savage character to the war, and to release the Span- 
ish gunboats, which are neither intended to operate against 
Peru or Cuba, but to defend the coast against the aggres- 
sions of filibusters and pirates. 

Inclosing copy of deer ee for freedom of worship 



A decree has been promulgated removing restrictions of 

formation of joint-stock companies. 
Sibamca. and Guaimaro— the former a hamlet, the latter a 

place of five hundred inhabitants — the only places occupied 

by the insurgents. 
SibamcA and Guaimaro are both destroyed 



Inclosing a circular inciting the negroes to burn the estates, 
forwarded by the consul at Matanzas, and said by him to 
have been "probably printed in New York." 

As to the orders given by the insurgents for the burning of 
estates and cane-fields. 

Commission on reforms in Porto Rico has been dissolved 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 11 

Synoptical list of papers — Continued. 



No. 



From whom and 
to whom. 



Date. 



Subject. 



Gen. Sickles to 
Mr. Pish. 



116 
117 



118 
119 



120 



.do 
.do 



.do 



Mr. Lowrie to 
Mr. Pish. 



The Attorney 
General to Mr. 
Pish. 



Nov. 14, 1869, 
No. 33. 

Nov. 25, 1869, 

No. 35. 

Nov. 28, 1869, 

Telegram. 



Dec. 3, 1869, 

Telegram. 
Dec. 15,1869 



Dec. 16,1869 



121 



No reform for Cuba to be brought forward till hostile bands 
are dispersed. ■ Incloses copies of speeches of the colonial 
minister on the 6th October and the 9th November. 

Transmitting project of reforms for Porto Rico 



Government programme for Porto Pico to include local self- 
government, free press, impartial suffrage, speedy abolition 
of slavery, equal civil and political rights without distinc- 
tion of color, &c, to be extended to Cuba when hostilities 
cease. 

Spain desires friendly relations with South American repub- 
lics, and will begin liberal colonial reforms at once. 

Had called upon the Attorney General in company with Mr. 
Evarts, and they had submitted affidavits ; but the Attor- 
ney General had informed him they would be disregarded, 
as not furnishing good evidence, and had clearly stated the 
purpose of the government. He incloses the affidavits. 

The Attorney General thinks that it is not proper for the 
P/nited States to cause a libel to be filed, under the third 
section of the statute of 1818, against the Spanish gun- 
boats, on the ground that they are procured to be fitted 
out and armed with intent that they shall be employed in 
the service of Spain, a foreign state, with intent to cruise 
or commit hostilities against the subjects, citizens, or 
property of a colony, district, or people with whom the 
United States are at peace — namely, a colony, district, or 
people claiming to be the republic of Cuba. He has so 
advised, and the government has acted on his advice. 

The affidavits of Miguel de Aldama, J. M. Mestre, Emalo P. 
Cavado, "William Clarence Tinker, Francis Coppinger, 
Enrique Leinaz, and Francis Xavier Cisneros, submitted 
to the Attorney General by Mr. Grosvenor P. Lowrie and 
Mr. William M. Evarts, counsel for the Cubans, to estab- 
lish the existence of a state of war and of an independent 
government in Cuba. 



161 



163 



164 
164 



164 



167 



PH.— CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND CONSULAR 
REPRESENTATIVES LN CUBA. 



122 



123 



124 



125 



Mr. La Reintrie 
to Mr. Seward. 



do 



.do 



.do 



Oct. 17,1868, 
No. 105. 



Oct. 24,1868, 
No. 107. 



Dec. 14, 1868, 
No. 119. 



Jan. 29, 1869, 
No. 130. 



Rumors that the telegraphic wires beyond Puerto Principe 
have been cut, and that the insurgents are rising in 
various parts of the island. Movements on foot to pro- 
claim independence . Slavery. Political situation of Spain 
a cause of discontent among Cubans. Fortifications being 
strengthened. Houses of persons suspected of republican 
proclivities searched. Recommends that a United States 
squadron be stationed in Cuban waters. 

Excitement continues to increase. National guard called 
out. Strength of revolutionary forces. Literview with 
General Lersundi. The general desired to know if fili- 
buster expeditions were likely to come from the United 
States. Rumors of an intended rising of republicans and 
negroes in the city. Commercial transactions affected by 
excitement. Requests presence of naval force. Political 
views of the two parties contending for political suprem- 
acy. Asks instructions for his guidance in case inde- 
pendence is declared. 

Incloses communication from United States commercial 
agent at Nuevitas relative to events in that quarter. 
Reasons for the presence of a United States squadron in 
Cuban waters. Encounter between insurgents and volun- 
teers. Two young men, insurgents, shot at Principe. In- 
cidents attending the march to, and occupation of, San 
Miguel by Count Valmaseda. Feeling between Spaniards 
and Cubans. Progress of the insurgents. 

Refers to murder of Mr. Samuel Alexander Cohner, a 
United States citizen. The assassin thought to be a vol- 
unteer. Dissatisfaction of volunteers at new system in- 
augurated by General Dulce. They roam about the city 
at will and utter threats of vengeance against all Cubans 
and foreigners who do not agree with them in political 
opinions. They surround a tneater and fire upon the as- 
sembled audience. Their conduct severely condemned by 
the Captain General. Ptirther violent demonstrations. 
The mansion of Mr. Delmonte y Aldama entered and ran- 
sacked. A protest addressed to him by United States 



181 



18a 



183 



184 



12 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 
Synoptical list of papers — Continued. 



No. 



From whom and 
to 'whom. 



Date. 



Subject. 



125 



126 



Mr. La Reintrie 
to Mr. Seward — 
Continued. 



Mr. Phillips to 
Mr. Fish. 



Jan. 29, 1869, 
No. 130. 



Jan. 3, 1870 



Mr. Hall to Mr. 
Davis. 



.do 



129 



.do 



Jan. 31,1870, 
No. 43. 

Feb. 5,1870, 
No. 47. 



Feb. 9,1870, 
No. 52. 



130 



.do 



Feb. 11, 1870, 
No. 53. 



citizens setting forth their complaints. Correspondence 
with the Captain General relative to the murder of Mr. 
Coliner unsatisfactory. Further appeal for a naval force. 
Threatened forcible removal of General Dulce from office.. 
Requests instructions as to how far he can extend protec- 
tion of United States in the case of Mr. Aldama. 

Political state of affairs in his consular district in a deplora- 
ble condition. The assassination at Bayamo of the citi- 
zens sent from Santiago de Cuba by order of Count Val- 
maseda was nothing more than what is daily perpetrated. 
Count Valmaseda aspires to the position of Captain Gen- 
eral. To increase his popularity among the Catalans he 
gives imperative orders to make the war one of extermi- 
nation. Assassination of peaceful citizens residing in the 
country by Spanish troops daily reported. Orders probably 
carried to an extreme. Reasons for the same. The insur- 
rection, notwithstanding the reports of the Spanish press 
to the contrary, remains in full force. Cubans, better 
armed and disciplined than formerly, in many cases take 
the offensive, and, with ranks increased by desertion from 
the enemy, are becoming bold and fight well. Sickness 
among the newly arrived Spanish troops. The insurrec- 
tion likely to continue for a long time. Liberal-minded 
Spanish officers think it cannot be suppressed. Only in- 
ducement offered for its continuance is that the command- 
ing officers are enabled to fill their pockets at the expense 
of the country. 

The statement which appeared in the New York Sun, of Oc- 
tober 5, relative to the murder of Robert "Wells at Cien- 
fuegos, proves to be untrue. 

Effect produced by the news of the assassination, at Key 
West, of Don Gonzalo Castanon. Don Vicente Dawney, 
or Dauni, shot in an affray with Spanish volunteers. La 
the opinion of Mr. Hall, the lives of American citizens are 
as well protected as those of any other class. 

News of the retreat of General Puello from Guaimaro fol- 
lowed by cable telegram announcing assassination of Don 
Gonzalo Castanon at Key West. Its effect. Authorities 
unconciously caused an excitement that they are unable 
to control. Their inability to protect the lives of peace- 
able inhabitants, or to punish atrocities that are being 
daily committed, is evident. Absence of United States 
vessels of war in Cuban ports. They may be needed for 
the purpose of offering refuge to United States citizens in 
the event of popular outbreaks. 

Inclosing copy of communication addressed to him from 
Matanzas, narrating recent occurrences at that place upon 
the receipt of the news of the assassination of Don Gon- 
zalo Castanon. Yiolent demonstrations of Spanish volun- 
teers. They assemble in front of the palace -and demand 
from the governor certain Cuban prisoners confined in jail 
under charge of having concealed weapons on their 
estates, that they may be put to death in revenge for the 
murder of Castanon. Their demand refused by the gov- 
ernor. Other attempts to obtain the prisoners unsuccess- 
ful. Efforts of the officers to restore order finally prove 
successful. The ringleaders of the riot arrested and 
placed in prison. They are finally conveyed to Havana, 
and are said to have been shipped to Spain. Indignation 
of volunteers against the governor and officers of police 
who executed his orders. Rumors of another demonstra- 
tion. Precautionary measures of the governor. Great 
excitement among volunteers. They finally demand 
resignation of chief of police, which is complied with. 



CORRESPONDENCE 



FE< 



I.— EXTEACTS FJROM LATE COEEESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE DEPAET- 

MENT 0] 
MADEID. 



MENT OP STMH AND THE LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES AT 



No. 1. 

Mr. Fish to General SicMes. 

No. 2.] Washington, June 29, 1869. 

Tlie condition of the Island of Cuba excites the most serious concern. 
For more than nine months a civil conflict has been raging there that 
gives as yet no promise of a speedy termination ; a conflict marked with 
a degree of fierceness and excess on either side rarely witnessed in later 
ages, and threatening, if continued, to work the desolation and destruc- 
tion of the wealth and the resources of the island. 

This government has felt itself constrained to remonstrate against a 
certain proclamation that was issued by the Captain General of Cuba in 
the course of this conflict, and which it appeared to the President would, 
if carried into effect, infringe upon the rights of our people, in the pur- 
suit of lawful commerce, and under the protection of the recognized law 
of nations, freely to navigate the high seas. We also felt ourselves 
called upon to remonstrate against another proclamation that threatened 
a mode of warfare that varied with the recognized customs of civilized 
nations. Assurances have been received orally from the representative 
of Spain at Washington that the former of these proclamations has 
been revoked. We therefore have good reason to think that no further 
cause of complaint will arise therefrom. It is true that one of our 
vessels was illegally and violently arrested on the high seas, and two 
passengers forcibly taken therefrom, for which we have demanded 
atonement. The passengers were, however, returned to the consul, and. 
the Spanish minister here has assured me that the passengers will be 
indemnified, and that a suitable apology will be made to the govern- 
ment for the affront to its flag. It is hoped that a satisfactory adjust- 
ment of this very unjustifiable outrage may be effected through the 
representative of Spain to this government, without the necessity of 
your intervention at the court of Madrid. 

The proximity of the Island of Cuba, the constant intercourse between 
its inhabitants and our citizens, and its extended and increasing com- 
merce with this country, all tend to awaken an earnest interest in our 
people in what concerns its inhabitants. Many citizens of the United 
States are largely interested in property there, many reside there, and 
many visit the island more or less frequently either on business, or to 
enjoy the benefit of the climate. Even more numerous, possibly, are the 
Cubans who own property, or who visit, or who reside, in the United 
States ; and thus there have grown up close personal relations, both 
business and social, between the inhabitants of Cuba and of the United 
States. A strong political sympathy also exists, and the civil strife now 
raging in the island thus appeals with unusual power to the sympathy 
which Americans feel for all peoples striving to secure for themselves 



14 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

more liberal institutions, and that inestimable right of self-government 
which we prize as the foundation of all progress and achievement. 

During the nine months that the insurrection in Cuba has existed 
this government has, in the utmost good faith, and with great success, 
exerted its powers to perforin all its duties and obligations toward 
Spain, and to maintain its friendly relations with that power. It has 
been no easy task to restrain our citizens within the bounds prescribed 
by the obligations of one friendly power to another, and to repress the 
spirit of adventure and enterprise from entering the fieldftf an extended 
and prolonged contest, where the cry was in favor of liberty, emancipa- 
tion, and self-government, especially when all the claims of neighbor- 
hood, of personal intimacies, and of political sympathies were tending in 
the direction of material aid to the insurrection, and when these tend- 
encies were warmed into life by the personal presence and the appeals 
of the Cubans who were either resident among us, or whom the desola- 
tion of their country had brought to our shores. But this government 
claims that it has faithfully discharged all these duties. 

The strife still continues in Cuba. It has already marked its track by 
devastation and ruin — towns sacked, houses burned, plantations destroy- 
ed, and lives lost. On either side the war has been one of desolation, 
and, if continued, must result in the entire destruction of a large part 
of the productive capacity of the island as well as of an immense 
amount of property and of human life. 

It is not impossible that the Cubans may be conquered, if Spain 
devotes her whole energies to the work ; but they can never again be 
contented, happy, faithful, or quiet subjects of that power. Assuming 
that Spain may eventually subdue the present insurrection, she will 
find herself in possession of a devastated and ruined territory, inhabited 
by a discontented people. The enlightened statesmen of Spain cannot 
fail to appreciate that the feelings and the affections of the entire native 
population of the island are not only estranged, but that they are deeply 
hostile to the continuance of Spanish rule. Nor can they fail to recog- 
nize the advancing growth of that sentiment which claims for every part 
of the American hemisphere the right of self-government and freedom 
from transatlantic dependence. 

England, bound as she has been to the traditions of the past, tena- 
cious as she has been of her possessions, and conservative of all her 
rights and interests, has recognized the force of this feeling, and has 
anticipated events by granting self-government to her North American 
provinces. Denmark, approving the policy of the separation of colonies 
from the parent state, is endeavoring to part with her insular possessions. 
Eussia has set a recent example of parting with her possessions in 
America. Nor are these the only governments in the Old World that are 
preparing their colonies for independence and self-government. It can 
no longer be a question of national dignity, nor can the proper pride or 
the just susceptibilities of a great power refuse to consider the question 
of a voluntary severance of past relations between itself and distant 
possessions. Spain herself was one of the first of the great European 
powers to cede voluntarily its distant colonial possessions, for she trans- 
ferred Louisiana to France, and subsequently ceded Florida to the 
United States. France, engaged in war, and finding Louisiana liable 
to military attack, replenished her treasury by its sale, while relieving 
herself of the burden of the defense of a distant possession. 

We hope that, -with these examples, Spain will now be prepared to 
consider and to adopt, with respect to Cuba, a like course of wise fore- 
sight and enlightened statesmanship. In the name of humanity she 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 15 

can afford to arrest this war ; and were it not for her traditional pride, 
and her recognized disregard of all considerations of mere interest 
where her honor is involved, we might appeal to considerations of 
interest, (which, after all, must be regarded by those who would wisely 
and prudently conduct the affairs of a nation,) to induce her to surrender 
her rights in the Island of Cuba, on receiving an equivalent for her 
property and her right of domain. 

After much consideration and a careful survey of the question in all 
its relations, this government has arrived at the conclusion that it is its 
duty to exert its friendly influence to bring this unhappy strife to a 
close. Duty to its own citizens and to their large property interests, 
jeoparded by the continuance of the war — the necessity of mantaining 
quiet within its borders now seriously disturbed by the continued strife ■ 
carried on so near its borders — our friendship for Spain, one of the 
earliest and oldest of our allies, with whom no interruption of friendly 
relations has occurred since our entrance into the family of nations — 
our sympathy for the Cubans, who are our neighbors — all alike impel 
the government to this course. 

The President therefore directs you to offer to the cabinet at Madrid 
the good offices of the United States for the purpose of bringing to. a 
close the civil war now ravaging the Island of Cuba, on the following 
bases : 

1. The independence of Cuba to be acknowledged by Spain. 

2. Cuba to pay to Spain a sum, within a time and in a manner to be 
agreed upon by them, as an equivalent for the entire and definite relin- 
quishment by Spain of all her rights in that island, including the public 
property of every description. If Cuba should not be able to pay the 
whole sum at once in cash, the future payments, by installments, are to 
be adequately secured by a pledge of the export and import customs 
duties under an arrangement to be agreed upon for their collection, 
in trust, for the purpose of securing both the principal and interest of 
those installments until their final discharge. 

3. The abolition of slavery in the Island of Cuba. 

4. An armistice pending the negotiations for the settlement above 
referred to. 

In case the good offices of the United States are accepted by Spain, 
you will request that such steps may be immediately taken as will arrest 
the progress of the fight, and you will communicate at once by telegraph 
with the department, using the cipher when necessary. Authority 
should also be asked in that case for the representatives of the revolu- 
tionary party, now in the United States, to communicate through the 
Spanish lines with those in command of the revolutiontary party in Cuba, 
in order that all further destruction of life and property may be arrested 
at the earliest possible moment. 

It is proposed that the negotiations for the settlement of the several 
questions to be adjusted between the contending parties shall be con- 
ducted here. You will therefore, in the event of our good offices being 
accepted, propose that a conference be held in the city of Washington, 
at an early day to be agreed upon between yourself and the cabinet of 
Madrid, between properly authorized representatives of the two parties, 
the representative of each party to be clothed with full powers to agree- 
to and to enter into a convention for a settlement on the bases above 
indicated, and to arrange, settle, and sign all necessary details and other 
agreements that may be thought proper on both sides. 

The President of the United States will, if desired by the representa- 
tives of the two parties, designate some person to attend, or to attend 



16 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

and preside in such conference, and to use his good offices in the form of 
information and advice in facilitating- the objects thereof; but such per- 
son will have no other power therein, and shall not assume any obliga- 
tion on the part of the United States, unless upon the joint request of 
the representatives of both parties, and with the assent of the President 
of the United States, which cannot be given until after consideration 
by him of such joint request. 

The President of the United States will undertake to decide all ques- 
tions which shall be referred to him by the conference. His decision 
shall be made upon protocols and other documents and proceedings of 
the conference, which may be so referred, and shall be conclusive and 
binding upon the parties. 

The expenses of each representative attending the conference will be 
defrayed by the state or party by which he is appointed. The con- 
ference will have accommodations (as to a place for transacting its 
business) furnished by the President of the United States. 

An armistice shall take place as soon as the government of the United 
States shall receive official information of the acceptance by Spain and 
Cuba of these propositions, and shall continue until the termination of 
the conference. 

You will take the earliest opportunity after your arrival to read these 
instructions to the Spanish minister for foreign affairs, and will also 
leave with him the office copy thereof herewith inclosed. 



No. 2. 
Mr. Fish to General Sickles. 

No. 3.J Washington, June 29, 1869. 

Your instruction No. 2, of even date, contains certain general views 
upon the Cuban question, which you are therein instructed to place be- 
fore the cabinet at Madrid in the form transmitted to you. I now desire 
to add certain other considerations, which you may or may not, at your 
discretion, put before the Spanish minister in your conversations and 
correspondence with him. 

You will notice that the proposal contained in your instruction No. 2 
is expressed to be for the purpose of bringing to a close the civil war 
now ravaging the island. While this expression is not designed to grant 
any public recognition of belligerent rights to the insurgents, it is never- 
theless used advisedly, and in recognition of a state and condition of 
the contest which may not justify a much longer withholding of the 
concession to the revolutionary party of the recognized rights of belli- 
gerents. Should the expression therefore be commented upon, you will 
admit what is above stated with reference to it, and may add, in case of 
a protracted discussion, or the prospect of a refusal by Spain to accept 
the proposed offer of the United States, that an early recognition of 
belligerent rights is the logical deduction from the present proposal, and 
will probably be deemed a necessity on the part of the United States, 
unless the condition of the parties to the contest shall have changed very 
materially. I need not caution you of the delicacy to be observed on 
this point, (as well as on all others,) so as not to arouse or excite any 
just susceptibilities of the government, of the minister, or of the people 
of Spain. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 17 

It may also be made a sine qua non by the Spanish cabinet that the 
United States should guarantee the payment of the sum proposed to be 
paid by Cuba to Spain. While it is desirable, if possible, to avoid such 
a complication, yet a state of things may arise in the course of the ne- 
gotiations at Washington that would induce the President to recom- 
mend Congress to authorize that to be done. In the event, therefore, 
of the point being raised and insisted upon, you will say that the Pres- 
ident understands that a state of things may arise in which he will not 
object to the assumption of such a liability on the part of the United 
States, should Congress assent to it. 

The President, being also desirous of removing all possible future 
sources of trouble in the Antilles, is willing, should the propositions of 
the United States be accepted, and should the subject of Porto Eico and 
its future political condition be mentioned by the Spanish minister, that 
you should inquire whether the cabinet at Madrid desire to make any 
suggestions as to that condition, and should they manifest a disposition 
to also sever their political relations with that island, you may receive 
and transmit to the department, for the consideration of the President, 
any suggestions or proposals which may be made with respect thereto. 
The same causes which have produced the present convulsion in Cuba 
exist latent in Porto Eico, and may be fanned into flames hereafter 
should free government and a system of free labor be brought in imme- 
diate contact with that island by establishing them in Cuba. It is not 
improbable, therefore, that the cabinet of Madrid may think it wise to 
determine the political condition of both islands at the same time. 
While, therefore, you will not obtrude this subject into any conference 
that may take place between you and the minister for foreign affairs, 
you will, should the question be brought forward by him, meet it as 
above directed. 

You have already been advised in your personal interview with me 
of the nature of a confidential conversation between General Prim and 
Mr. Paul S. Forbes, a citizen of the United States, whose personal rela- 
tions with General Prim, the president of the council, and with other 
leading personages in the Spanish capital, have led the President to name 
him as a special and confidential agent of this government, to proceed 
to Madrid for the purpose of there conferring with the Spanish authori- 
ties with a view to secure the termination of hostilities and the inde- 
pendence of the island. Mr. Forbes' powers are advisory only. You 
will avail yourself of Mr. Forbes's assistance in the delicate but very im- 
portant negotiations on this subject. Should he have arrived in Madrid 
before you reach there, he may have notified the cabinet informally of 
the nature of the proposition which, under the instructions contained in 
my No. 2, you are directed to present. In that event you will be able to 
govern yourself in their formal and official presentation somewhat by his 
report and advice. Every consideration of humanity as well as of inter- 
est will call upon you so to shape this negotiation within the line of yo 
instructions as to bring it to a successful result if possible. 



No. 3. 

General Sicldes to Mr. Davis. 

[Telegram.] 

July 27, 1869. 
Arrived last Wednesday. Eegent at Granja. Will be presented Thurs- 
day. Shall ask formal interview with minister immediately after pres- 
H. Ex. Doc. 160- — 2 



18 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

entation and report promptly. Disposition good. Enforcing neutrality 
laws and withholding belligerent rights have conciliated Spanish gov- 
ernment, people, and press. 



No. 4. 

Mr. Fish to General Sickles. 
[Telegram.] 

Washington, July 29, 1869. 
An early decision on the proposition to mediate is extremely import- 
ant. Hasten it. Spanish authorities in Cuba are impotent for protec- 
tion of the lives of our citizens. Cuba and Porto Eico should not be 
connected in the submission or negotiation. 



No, 5. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 
[Telegram.] 

July 31, 1869. 
Offered good offices of President. Secretary of state replied he would 
consult his colleagues, and see me Monday. Interview cordial. Discus- 
sion to-day limited by minister to overture. Prim receives me to-mor- 
row by appointment. Will report result immediately. 



No. 6. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 
[Telegram.] 

. August 1, 1869. 
Communicated to Prim informally basis of convention. He pressed 
me to say how much Cuba and Porto Eico would give. I said I had no 
instructions, and suggested one hundred and twenty-five millions as 
probable. Prim said Spain might arrange preliminaries with United 
States and concede autonomy of Cuba and Porto Eico for satisfactory 
equivalent as soon as hostilities ceased. He promised to bring the whole 
subject before the council to-night. 



No. 7. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 
[Telegram.] 

August 6. 1869. 
Prim says sudden illness of secretary of state has delayed reply. 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 19 

No. 8. 
General SicMes to Mr. Fish. 

No. 4.] Madrid, August 12, 1869. 

On my arrival Mr. Forbes reported to me that he had not presented 
his letter to the minister of state ; that Marshal Prim, to whom Mr. 
Forbes had intimated the purport of the propositions contained in his 
instructions, did not receive them with favor, and as the president of 
the council was understood to be more inclined to our views than his 
colleagues, Mr. Forbes determined to await my arrival before making 
any communication to the minister of state. 

In view of his report and advice, I deemed it prudent, in compliance 
with your instructions, to postpone, for the present, the formal commu- 
nication of your dispatch No. 2, and accordingly in my interview with 
Senor Silvela, on the 31st ultimo, you will observe that I confined my- 
self to the general views I was instructed to express. 

The conversation began by a reference, on my part, to the kindness 
and consideration with which I had been received by the regent at La 
Granja, to which the minister courteously replied that the regent was 
glad of an occasion to show not only his regard for myself, but the value 
which the Spanish nation placed upon the friendship of the United 
States. 

I then entered at once upon the object for which I had sought the 
interview, remarking that I desired to begin a full and frank conver- 
sation in relation to Cuba. 

The minister replied immediately that the question of Cuba was one 
of the gravest that now occupied the government; that he had spoken 
with the president of the council of ministers on the subject and was 
prepared to hear the views I had to present. 

I proceeded to observe that the government and people of the United 
States felt a lively sympathy in the recent efforts made by the people of 
Spain in the great work of their national reorganization, and that it 
was the earnest desire of the President to avoid anything that could 
embarrass the government of Spain at this time. In this relation I 
mentioned the scrupulous observance by the government of the United 
States of all its international obligations, and the strict enforcement of 
its neutrality laws in respect to the Cuban insurrection ; at the same 
time pointing out the close relations by which the population of the 
United States is connected with Cuba, the near neighborhood, and the 
large commercial and social intercourse between them. It was but 
natural, I added, that a deep sympathy with the Cuban people should 
have grown up in the United States, especially as so many of our citi- 
zens regarded the Cubans as fighting for the same principles of self- 
government we had ourselves adopted. 

That if it were true, as is believed, that a majority of the people of Cuba 
desired to terminate their relation of colonial dependence upon the 
mother country, it seemed to the President that in this they were only 
following the general course of events upon the American Continent 
since the establishment of our own independence. This manifest and 
inevitable tendency had been generally recognized by the European 
powers, including not only Spain herself, but Great Britain, France, 
Eussia, and other nations. 

Considering, therefore, our old and intimate relations of friendship 
with Spain, and the ties of interest and sympathy which bound us to 
Cuba, the President regarded the present moment opportune for tender- 



20 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

ing to the government of Spain the good offices of the United States in 
all proper efforts to arrest the deplorable conflict of which the Island 
had been the theatre for so many months. 

The President appreciated too highly the sense of national honor and 
the legitimate pride that form such distinguishing traits of the Spanish 
character to make any suggestion that could awaken the just suscepti- 
bilities of the government of his Highness, the Eegent, but in the name 
of humanity, and in the interest of both nations, he hoped that some 
means of settling the questions at issue might be devised at the earliest 
possible day. 

The minister, interrupting me as if he thought I had gone quite far 
enough, for the present at least, acknowledged the sincere and loyal 
manner in which the government of the United States had fulfilled its 
international duties in regard to the Cuban insurrection ; he admitted 
the extreme difficulty in a free country of preventing individuals from 
joining either side in a war near its borders, and said that so far as the 
power of the American government extended, Spain not only had no 
cause for complaint, but had been most gratefully impressed with the 
upright and loyal dealing of the President ; that he had repeatedly di- 
rected their representative in Washington to express to our government 
their cordial appreciation of its action ; that this feeling of grateful sym- 
pathy was general in Spain, and found utterance everywhere in public 
and in private j and that now, more than ever, Spain regarded America 
with sympathy and confidence. In former days, when the pro-slavery 
party held the reins of power, there was some anxiety from time to 
time lest the recklessness of filibusters should involve the two nations in 
difficulty ; but that since the victory of the national cause in the great 
war, the liberal people of Spain had come to regard the United States as 
their natural friend. 

The Cuban question was one of the utmost gravity and delicacy. It 
was the intention of the Spanish liberals, who planned and executed the 
revolutionary movements which have given to Spain its new political 
life, to make, at the earliest moment, provision for granting self-govern- 
ment to Cuba. But this fatal insurrection broke out at the very moment 
when it was becoming possible to give to Cuba all the rights she desired. 
The cry of "Death to Spaniards" was heard in Spain, and it became im- 
possible, in the face of civil war, to carry out the beneficent plan that 
had been formed. The liberal party in Spain finds itself, to its own in- 
finite regret, forced into a seeming sympathy with the reactionary party 
in Cuba ; and the liberals of Cuba, who ought to be its firm friends, are 
converted, by the fatality of the situation, into its bitterest enemies. 
There is no sentiment dearer to the hearts of the liberal leaders than that 
of freedom to all men ; yet they stand before the world, in this Cuban 
conflict, as opposed to self-government and resisting the abolition of 
slavery. He considered the insurrection as a most deplorable misfor- 
tune and mistake, both for Cuba and for Spain. 

If a way could be found to settle all these questions in such a manner 
as to do justice to Cuba, without infringing upon the honor of Spain, the 
government would be greatly gratified. There is no intention or desire 
among the liberals of Spain ever again to work [exploiter] the Island of 
Cuba on the old selfish system. It has been their constant hope and 
wish to grant to the Cubans the administration of their own affairs and 
the full fruits of their own labor, preserving their commercial connec- 
tions, and some shadow of their political relations. 

The minister said, in conclusion, that he would report to his colleagues 
in the government the substance of this conversation at the first meet- 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 21 

ing of the council. The subject was too grave to be disposed of in a sin- 
gle interview. He would name an early day for a second conference, in 
which he hoped to be prepared to ask General Sickles to lay before him 
more definitely the views of the government of the United States in this 
matter. 

It was so evident the minister wished to confine the interview to the 
overtures I had already made, that I forbore proceeding further with the 
discussion ; and expressing the hope that I would soon have the pleasure 
of renewing the conference, for which I should await his excellency's in- 
vitation, I left the topic, and after a brief interchange of civilities, took 
leave. 



No. 9. 
General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

No. 5.] Madrid, August 12, 1869. 

On Sunday, the day after my interview with the minister of state, I 
made the prescribed visit of ceremony to the president of the council 
of ministers, Marshal Prim, at his quarters in the war department. 
After the customary courtesies had been observed, and with the marshal's 
consent, which was frankly given, the subject of Cuba was introduced. 
I said I had an important communication from my government looking 
to a solution of the question, that I was anxious to present as soon as 
possible. He asked me if it was the same or substantially the same as 
the one Mr. Forbes had foreshadowed, to which I replied in the affirma- 
tive, when, with much animation and even warmth of manner, he pro- 
tested that Spain would not entertain the suggestion of an armistice 
with the insurgents, nor consider the question of the independence of 
Cuba, while the insurgents were in arms against the government; that 
Spain would grant a full and complete amnesty as soon as the insurgents 
laid down their arms 5 and that being done, the whole subject would be 
open for consideration 5 that he was disposed to meet the question 
frankly and practically ; that perhaps he was somewhat in advance of 
the views of his colleagues, but he had no doubt they were unanimous 
in the hope that the influence of the United States might be successfully 
exerted to relieve the question from the embarrassments which now 
surrounded it. He added that, in regard to emancipation, Spain would 
prefer to leave that matter to the Cubans themselves, saying, " That is 
your glory in America, the reward of your philanthrophy, and we do 
not wish to deprive you of it." 

I then sounded the marshal upon the proposal for a conference in 
Washington, in which Spain, the United States, and Cuba should be 
represented ; but to this he at once demurred, saying Cuba could only 
be heard here through her deputies elected to the Cortes; that Spain 
might treat with the United States, not with Cuba. 

I then referred to my interview with the minister of state the day 
before, and enlarged upon the considerations then advanced, adding 
that every day the conflict was prolonged increased the danger of 
further complications, and to enable the United States to exert their 
good offices with advantage to all parties, it was essential that no time 
be lost ; that if the preliminaries could be settled here now between the 
United States and Spain, and the effusion of blood stopped, the passions 
of the conflict would be calmed, and the details would then be less 
difficult of adjustment than at present. 



22 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OP CUBA. 

The marshal replied that Senor Silvela had informed him of our in- 
terview, and that the subject would be brought before the council that 
night, and he hoped it would not be long before the minister of state 
or himself would be prepared to intimate to me the bases upon which 
Spain would be willing to treat ; that, meanwhile, he preferred our con- 
versation should be regarded as unofficial and entirely confidential. 

Having already trespassed upon the indulgence accorded to a visit of 
mere ceremony, with the marshal's permission to resume the subject at 
an early day, I withdrew, agreeably impressed with his candor and 
courtesy. 



No. 10. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

[Telegram.] 

AUGUST 13, 1869. 

President of council authorizes me to state that the good offices of the 
United States are accepted. He suggests informally, for your informa- 
tion, four cardinal propositions that will be acceptable, if offered by the 
United States, as the basis for a convention, the details to be settled as 
soon as practicable : 

First. The insurgents to lay down their arms. 

Second. Spain to grant simultaneously a full and complete amnesty. 

Third. The people of Cuba to vote by universal suffrage upon the 
question of their independence. 

Fourth. The majority having declared for independence, Spain to 
grant it, the Cortes consenting; Cuba paying satisfactory equivalent 
guaranteed by the United States. 

As soon as preliminaries are settled, safe conduct through Spanish lines 
to be given for communication with insurgents. 

Prim enjoins uttermost secrecy as to this and all other communica- 
tions. 



]S T o. 11. 
General SieMes to Mr. Fish. 

No. 6.] Madrid, August 14, 1869. 

In consequence of Mr. Sil vela's illness I did not hear from him until 
the evening of the 9th instant, when he invited me by note to call at the 
Foreign Office the next day. 

He resumed the subject of our former interview by remarking that he 
had conferred with his colleagues in regard to the proposals I had made, 
and was prepared to acquaint me with the views of the cabinet. He 
then read from a manuscript the remarks which are embodied in the 
inclosed memorandum of the conversation. I expressed my regret that 
the Spanish government, by choosing to treat the subject as a purely 
legal question to be settled according to their own forms of procedure, 
had apparently closed the door to any arrangement by which the good 
offices of the United States could be made immediately effective. 

The minister replied with great animation that such was not the mean- 
ing or intention of the government ; he considered that exactly the con- 
trary was true ; that by the friendly intervention of the United States 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF .CUBA. 23 

a great step in advance had been rendered possible — a simultaneous dis- 
armament and amnesty of the insurgents ; that this already was a great 
progress; a minister who would have discussed such a matter a few 
years ago would have been dragged through the streets by the popu- 
lace ; that now, on the contrary, we are able to discuss it in a calm and 
reasonable manner. 

Mr. Silvela then entered upon a very full analysis of article 108 of the 
Spanish constitution, showing that it had two distinct and opposite 
phases in its relation to the present question ; that while by its terms it 
precluded the government from making any definitive arrangement in 
regard to Cuba until the Cuban representatives shall have taken their 
seats in the Cortes, on the other hand it authorizes the government to 
make any arrangement that might seem expedient after the Cuban dep- 
uties arrive, the Spanish government and chambers being then free to 
negotiate on the basis of a liberal constitution, complete autonomy or 
independence ; and that although it might be said the independence of 
the island was not contemplated by the constitution, yet giving the 
article a somewhat latitutlinarian construction, it was susceptible even of 
that interpretation. 

I answered that while it would not be proper for me to discuss the 
constitutional question with his excellency, yet I would commend to his 
notice that in dealing with the events now transpiring in Cuba, it was 
necessary to look at them in a practical point of view ; that unless some 
arrangement could be made at once, the conflict might soon reach pro- 
portions and involve complications that would greatly increase the diffi- 
culties of a settlement ; and that notwithstanding the desire of the 
President to do all in his power to promote a satisfactory adjustment, 
the interests affected and the strong current of sympathy in the struggle 
felt in the United States, might cause no little embarrassment, if 
nothing more could be done until the Cuban deputies took their seats 
in the Cortes. 

Mr. Silvela expressed his entire concurrence with what I had said, but 
added that it wag impossible, in the present temper and spirit of the 
Spanish people, to proceed hastily in the matter, and that above all it 
was out of the question for the government, whose highest duty it was 
to inculcate the most religious respect for the constitution, to give at 
this time the example of an infraction of it. 

He hoped the steps he had indicated would lead, in a legal and reg- 
ular way, to the object we had all so much at heart, and suggested, in 
view of the susceptible state of public feeling in Spain and Cuba, that 
both governments and their agents should observe the strictest reserve 
in regard to these negotiations, as premature publicity would greatly 
embarrass them. 

It was then arranged that a brief memorandum of this interview 
should be drawn up and signed by Mr. Silvela and myself the next day, 
whereupon the minister intimated to me that the president of the council 
desired to see me, and hoped I would call on him the following morning, 
which 1 promised to do. 

There is a wide interval between the president of the council and the 
minister of state in their views, as expressed on the subject of Cuba. 
The latter confines himself strictly, I presume, to the communications 
he is instructed by the council to make ; while Marshal Prim takes 
ground in advance of his colleagues, counting, no doubt advisedly, upon 
their co-operation when necessary. 

Inclosed will be found * * * a copy of the memorandum 
of our interview, dated August 11, but signed to-day, and a copy of 
article 108 of the constitution of Spain. * * , * * 



24 STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



In the conference which took place to-day, the 10th of August, 1869, between the 
representative of the United States, General Sickles, and the minister of state, the 
latter of these gentlemen said, that having made known to the government the sug- 
gestion made by the minister plenipotentiary of the United States, General Sickles, in 
the conference of the 31st of July last, in regard to the desire of the President and 
of the people of those States that the Spanish government might succeed in promptly 
putting an end to the violent state of affairs that now devastates the Island of Cuba, 
he thinks proper to state that after the revolution of September had taken place, and 
conformably to the principles thereby proclaimed, Spain would already have given all 
constitutional liberties to Cuba if the unfortunate insurrection of Yara and the cry of 
" Death to Spain," uttered by some Cubans, had not alienated the sympathies of the 
nation, and obliged the government to accept the impolitic contest" to which it was 
provoked ; that a good proof of its desire to settle in a liberal sense the question of the 
Antilles is shown not only by the election of the deputies of Porto Eico, who are to take 
their seats in the Cortes Constituyentes at their next session, but also by the 108th ar- 
ticle of the constitution, in which, notwithstanding the period in which it was adopted, 
it was provided that the concurrence of the deputies of that province is necessary to 
fix the future form of government of the island. 

In view of these indisputable facts, and taking account of and appreciating the tra- 
ditional pride of the Spanish people, the government considers that it can come to no 
definite decision in regard to the political situation and future government of the 
Island of Cuba, until the insurgents lay down their arms and cease the struggle. 

This being done, the government is disposed to grant a full and generous amnesty to 
the insurgents, and when quiet is established, to proceed to the freest election of rep- 
resentatives of Cuba. 

The national dignity being thus preserved intact, and it being practicable to comply 
with the article of the constitution, the moment will have arrived for concerting with 
its representatives the necessary measures uvi relation to the legal future of the Island 
of Cuba, submitting them to the indispensable approbation of "the Constituent Cortes. 

In conclusion, if the United States, by their natural influence in America, are able 
to contribute to the cessation of the effusion of blood, in the pacification of the Island 
of Cuba, and its entrance, by the election of its deputies, into the exercise of its rights, 
the government of Spain cannot but be grateful for these good offices. 

General Sickles replies that he will communicate to his government the views of the 
cabinet of Madrid. Of course he cannot anticipate the views of his government in 
regard to the bases mentioned by his excellency the secretary of state ; and although 
it will be deeply regretted that a constitutional obstacle prevents the executive from 
dealing with the main question now and definitively, there can be no doubt that the 
scrupulous observance of constitutional limitations of authority will be appreciated 
by the government of the United States. The generous offer of "a full amnesty to the 
insurgents, the recognition of the right of the Cubans, through their representatives, 
to have a concurrent voice in determining the future of the island, and the promise of 
a free election for deputies, afford ground for congratulation upon the good disposition 
manifested by the Spanish government. 

Eeserving the questions suggested by article 108 of the constitution of Spain, General 
Sickles, in conformity with his instructions, expresses the hope of his government that 
in view of the deplorable character of the conflict, and the possible complications inci- 
dent to a prolongation of hostilities, the cabinet of Madrid will endeavor to reach as 
promptly as possible a solution of the question, a result which the government of the 
United States will be happy to assist in promoting. 

This exchange of views, the object of the conference, being thus terminated, it was 
agreed to give to it the character of the strictest reserve. 

Signed at Madrid on the eleventh of August, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine. 

MANUEL SILVELA. 
D. E. SICKLES. 



C. 

CONSTITUTION OF THE SPANISH MONARCHY. 

Section 10. — Of tlw transmarine provinces. 

Article 108. The Cortes Constituyentes shall reform the present system of govern- 
ment in the transmarine provinces when the deputies of Cuba or Porto Rico shall have 
taken their seats, in order to extend to the same, with the modifications which shall 
be deemed necessary, the privileges set forth in the constitution. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 25 

No. 12. 

Mr. Fish to General Sickles. 
[Telegram.]] 

Washington, August 16, 1869. 
Urge acceptance on basis proposed by the United States. First propo- 
sition of Spain that insurgents lay down arms is incapable of attainment 
as a preliminary. The third, to ascertain the will of the Cubans by a 
vote is impracticable because of the disorganization of society, and the 
terrorism that prevails, and the violence and insubordination of the vol- 
unteers. There can be no question as to the will of the majority ; it has 
been recognized and admitted. An armistice should immediately be 
agreed upon to arrest the carnage and destruction of property, and op- 
portunity be granted to communicate with the insurgents, and emanci- 
pation of slaves be determined. 



ISo. 13. 
General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

ISo. 8.] Madrid, August 16, 1869. 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your instructions Nos. 
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, with the iuclosures mentioned in them respect- 
ively, except the office copy of IsTo. 2. 

My interview with the president of the council was postponed at bis 
instance until the 12th, when I had a long and free conversation with 
his excellency in relation to Cuba. My telegram of the 13th having al- 
ready advised you of the result of the conference, I shall condense my 
report as much as possible. 

General Prim said he had conferred freely with his colleagues in re- 
gard to the basis I had informally communicated to him, and they were 
less inclined than himself to agree to our proposal. 

I remarked that the official answer of the minister of state to my over- 
tures had acquainted me with the views of the cabinet, and I regretted 
to be compelled to transmit to my government a reply so little calculated 
to encourage the efforts the President was disposed to make toward a 
settlement of the controversy. 

General Prim replied that some of his colleagues did not realize, as 
he did, the difficulty of carrying on a war in America ; and that they 
were greatly influenced by the popular sentiment in Spain, which made 
no account of any sacrifice of life or money when the national honor was 
believed to be involved ; that Mr. Silvela, being a lawyer, and a parlia^ 
mentary leader, naturally inclined toward a purely legal and legisla- 
tive solution, while for his part, if he were alone concerned, he would 
say to the Cubans, "Go if you will ; make good the treasure you have 
cost us, and let me bring home our army and fleet, and consolidate the 
liberties and resources of Spain." 

I suggested that public opinion in Europe had already anticipated 
some arrangement by which the independence of Cuba might be con- 
ceded; that the continental and English journals in discussing the sub- 
ject found ample precedent for such a concession by Spain in the action 
of other European states ; that several influential papers in Madrid fa- 



26 STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

vored more or less the same views, and I added that the people of Spain 
had given such proofs of their confidence in the present government, 
that he had only to carry ont the sagacions and practical plan of action 
he had heretofore indicated, and he would doubtless he sustained in this 
as he had been in all his measures. 

The general rejoined by saying with much animation that the great 
difficulty in the way was the defiant attitude of the insurgents ; that 
here was the mistake of the United States in proposing an armistice 
and asking Spain to treat on the basis of independence with insurgents 
with arms in their hands ; and he added emphatically, "lam sure no 
human power could obtain from the Spanish people the most insignifi- 
cant concession as long as the rebellion maintains its footing." 

Upon this I observed that no one appreciated more highly than the 
President the elevated tone of the cabinet of Madrid, and that he would 
be the last to make any proposal derogatory to the honor of Spain ; 
that in his view a measure that would stop the indiscriminate sacrifice 
of life and property in Cuba, pending negotiations for ulterior arrange- 
ments, was prompted as well by considerations of humanity as of policy; 
that Great Britain had recognized the independence of the United 
States simultaneously with the cessation of hostilities, and that if, as I 
was glad to be assured, the future relations of Cuba to the mother 
country admitted of adjustment hereafter on the basis of the independ- 
ence of the colony, then surely some means might be devised by which, 
without offense to Spain, the conflict could be arrested pending the 
negotiations with the United States, a friendly power offering its good 
offices to promote a settlement of the question ; and I added, with em phasis, 
that such was the pressure of events, you had instructed me by telegraph 
to ask for an immediate answer to our proposal, and to say that the 
President was embarrassed by the delay that had occurred ; that I had 
preferred to make this communication to himself in view of Mr. Sil vela's 
disinclination to discuss the question before the arrival of the Cuban 
deputies to the Cortes; and that unless he was prepared to forego 
whatever advantage might be gained through the mediation of the 
United States, prompt action was necessary. 

He then, after some conversation about matters of detail, put in form 
the substance of the proposition sent to you by my telegram of the 13th, 
a copy of which I inclose with this dispatch. In the evening, not long- 
after I had left him, the general sent me a note asking me not to send 
my dispatch until after I had seen him again the following day, at eleven. 
In that interview, which was brief, General Prim said he had informed 
the council, soon after we separated, of the communication he had made to 
me, and they thought he had perhaps gone beyond the limits of the execu- 
tive power in his proposal ; he therefore would qualify the fourth point 
by inserting "the Cortes consenting," which was accordingly done. I 
then read to him the text of the telegram as it was transmitted to you, 
and he found it correct. 

You will, of course, observe the duplex form the negotiation receives 
in the Spanish cabinet. The reserve of the minister of state and the 
frankness of the president of the council are in striking contrast. The 
exxflanation is to be found as well in the solicitude of the minister of 
state to hold a position easily defended in the Cortes, if the negotiation 
fail, as in the characteristics of the men ; one deals with the question as 
a successful revolutionary leader wielding almost absolute power, the 
other purely as a jurist and a parliamentarian. 

My dispatches are so far anticipated by my telegrams that I fear these 
details will not have much interest for you ; nevertheless they make up 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 27 

the current record of the transactions of the legation, and as such may- 
be useful. 

As 1 write to you with great freedom of all that seems essential to 
acquaint you with the situation here, I have marked this dispatch as 
confidential for obvious prudential reasons. 



General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 
[Cipher dispatch.] 

Madrid, August 13, 1869. 

President of council authorizes me to state that the good offices of the United States 
are accepted. He suggests informally for your information four cardinal propositions 
that will he acceptable if offered by the United States, as the basis for a convention ; 
the details to be settled as soon as practicable. 

First. The insurgents to lay down their arms. 

Second. Spain to grant simultaneously a full and complete amnesty. 

Third. The people of Cuba to vote by universal suffrage upon the question of their 
independence. 

Fourth. The majority having declared for independence, Spain to grant it,. the Cortes 
consenting; Cuba paying satisfactory equivalent guaranteed by the United States. 

As soon as preliminaries are settled, safe conduct through Spanish lines to be given 
for communication with insurgents. 

Prim enjoins secrecy as to this and all other communications. 



No. 14. 
General SicJcles to Mr. Fish. 

No. 9.] Madrid, August 20, 1869. 

Yesterday, as soon as I had received the supplemental telegram by 
which I was informed of the exact text of your instructions, sent by 
telegraph on the 16th instant, I sought an interview with the president 
of the council of ministers, which he promptly appointed for this morn- 
ing at eleven. I have just now left him, after a very full discussion of 
all the points comprised in your instructions, and although the mail for 
the next steamer closes early this afternoon, I shall endeavor to send 
you by this post a report embodying the substance of our conversation. 

After communicating to General Prim your views in regard to the 
first and third of his propositions, requiring the Cubans to lay down 
their arms, and to declare by a vote the desire of the population for 
independence, I proceeded to urge your proposal as embodied in your 
instruction No. 2, already communicated to him by Mr. Forbes, and 
illustrated its advantages by arguments and suggestions I will not now 
stop to recapitulate. 

General Prim, in reply to the objection made to the cessation of hos- 
tilities on the part of the insurgents as a preliminary, said it was not 
intended as a condition to precede an understanding with the United 
States ; he was ready to agree with me upon the bases of an arrange- 
ment contemplating the independence of Cuba, but that he could not 
give to the arrangement the sanctions of a treaty, nor submit the propo- 
sitions to the Cortes for their ratification while the insurgents were in 
arms ; he said he had no doubt that whatever might be the result of the 
conflict, Cuba would eventually be free: that he recognized without 
hesitation the manifest course of events on the American Continent and 



28 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

the inevitable termination of all colonial relations in their autonomy as 
soon as they were prepared for independence ; but that no emergency 
and no consideration would reconcile Spain to such a concession until 
hostilities ceased. 

I reminded him that Austria had transferred Venice to France, and 
assented to its immediate transfer to Italy, before peace was declared ; 
that the independence of all the American States had been recognized 
at one time and another during the progress of hostilities ; and that in 
coming to an agreement with the United States on the subject Spain 
would not treat with insurgents, but with a friendly power, offering its 
good offices to an old ally. To these and like amplifications of the argu 
ment he replied with great earnestness and emphasis : " Let the United 
States be assured of the good faith and the good disposition of Spain, 
and especially of the frankness and sincerity with which the president 
of the countil has promised to treat with the cabinet at Washington, on 
the basis of the independence of Cuba, as soon as it is possible to do so 
consistently with the dignity and honor of Spain ; formidable as the 
insurrection in Cuba may become, it has not yet approached the pro- 
portions of any of those conflicts in which governments have found 
themselves constrained to treat during hostilities. The Cuban insur- 
gents hold no city or fortresses ; they have no port, no ships; they have 
no army that presumes to offer or accept battle ; and now, before the 
period arrives for active operations, when Spain will send the ample 
re-enforcements she holds in readiness, it is only necessary for the Cu- 
bans to accept the assurance of the United States, given on the faith of 
Spain, that they may have their independence by laying down their 
arms, electing their deputies, and declaring their wish to be free by a 
vote of the people." 

I have thus rapidly and briefly sketched the leading points of this 
interview, that you may be put in possession of all of it I can give you 
to-day by post. I am satisfied the president of the council desires to 
come to an agreement with the United States on the subject of Cuba, 
and that the independence of the island is not a serious obstacle to the 
negotiation. 



No. 15. 
General SicMes to Mr. Fish. 

[Telegram.] 

August 20, 1869. 
Long interview with president of council to-day. He said the first 
proposition of Spain was not a preliminary to an agreement with 
United States, but was a condition of concessions to the insurgents ; 
and that the third proposition was a condition of the independence of 
Cuba. I again urged acceptance on the basis proposed by the United 
States. He said that Spain desired the good offices of the United 
States, and was prepared to see Cuba free, but that the consent of Spain 
must be given in a manner consistent with her self-respect. He re- 
peated that an armistice with the insurgents was impossible : that eman- 
cipation of the slaves could not be separated from other questions now 
paramount; and that communication with the insurgents would be 
permitted after agreement with the United States. Shall report this 
conversation fully by mail to-day and Sunday." I regard it as essential 
to a correct appreciation of the views of Spain. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 29 

]S T 0. 16. 
General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

No. 10.] Madrid, August 21, 1869. 

The report in my No. 9 of the interview with General Prim yester- 
day was necessarily brief. In giving yon the conversation more in detail, 
I shall endeavor to avoid superfluous repetition. 

The president of the council said his idea was that the governments 
of the United States and Spain should come to an understanding in 
regard to the question— a full and complete accord ; that then the Uni- 
ted States shoidd employ their influence with the Cubans to induce them 
to accept a basis of settlement which should comprise — 

1. A cessation of hostilities ; 

2. An amnesty ; 

3. The election of deputies ; 

4. A project of law to be submitted by the government to the Cortes, 
settling the future of the island. 

It was impossible to act oflicially in the matter while the insurrection 
still maintained itself. But the arrangement which the two govern- 
ments were now trying to arrive at was as earnest, as serious, and as 
binding as if it were in form and manner a treaty. 

I asked what would be the result if the United States accepted such a 
basis of agreement, and the Cubans should refuse to lay down their 
arms and proceed to the election of deputies, and vote on the question 
of their independence. 

The president of the council said : " In that case, there would be but 
one solution, continuing the war a Voutrance. I do not flatter myself that 
Spain will retain possession of the island. I consider that the period 
of colonial autonomy has virtually arrived. However the present con- 
test may end, whether in the suppression of the insurrection, or in the 
better way of an amicable arrangement through the assistance of the 
United States, it is equally clear to me that the time has come for Cuba 
to govern herself ; and if we succeed in putting down the insurrection 
to-morrow, I shall regard the subject in the same light— that the child 
has attained its majority and should be allowed to direct its own affairs. 
We want nothing more than to get out of Cuba, but it must be done in 
a dignified and honorable manner." 

I assured the general that nothing was further from the disposition of 
the President of the United States than to make any proposal that 
could wound the just susceptibility of the government of Spain; that all 
the wars by which the American republics had attained their independ- 
ence were closed by negotiations carried on before hostilities bad 
ceased ; and although in any matter affecting its honor every nation 
must decide for itself, it did not appear to the President that the course 
of action he had proposed was in the slightest degree inconsistent with 
the self-respect of Spain, while it avoided many difficulties and afforded 
the most speedy and practicable solution of the question. 

General Prim at once replied : " There is avast difference between the 
present insurrection in Cuba and those revolutionary movements by 
which the republics of the Western Continent gained their independence. 
In those examples negotiation was resorted to after campaigns had been 
tought; and battles lost and gained ; they had armies in the field and 
organized governments supporting them. We see nothing of this in 
Cuba ; only mere roving bands, who fly when they are pursued, and 
who have never been found in numbers Sufficient to give or accept bat- 



30 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

tie. It is very possible that in the lapse of time the insurrection may 
become more formidable; it may raise armies; it may take cities and 
fortified places ; it may demonstrate, what has not yet been in any way 
demonstrated, that it is supported by the majority of the population. 
In that case Spain will have something tangible to treat with. But we 
hope to avoid all this bloodshed, disaster, and ruin by making some am- 
icable arrangement now. It is impossible for us to treat with the Cu- 
bans now, but the United States, when once convinced of the good inten- 
tions and good faith of the Spanish government, can then assure the 
Cubans that by following the programme I have indicated, they can have 
their liberty without firing another shot." 

In regard to the propositions of the American government heretofore 
presented by Mr. Forbes, and to-day renewed by myself, the president 
of the council remarked that he could only say, it was impossible to 
precede negotiations by either an armistice or by the abolition of slav- 
ery ; that the latter would at once follow the emancipation of the island, 
and that all these things were bound together and could not be sepa- 
rated. " Here, then," he repeated, " are the successive steps : 

" 1. A settlement of a basis of agreement which shall assure the gov- 
ernment of the United States of the good intentions and good faith of 
the Spanish government ; 

"2. The United States to counsel the Cubans to accept this arrange- 
ment; 

"3. Cessation of hostilities and amnesty; 

" 4. The election of deputies ; 

" 5. Action of the Cortes ; 

" 6. Plebiscit and independence. 

" This being all arranged in advance between the two governments, 
if the United States could but be satisfied of the sincerity of these pro- 
posals, and would persuade the Cubans to accept them, the object we 
both desire could be accomplished. There will, of course, be difficulties 
in the execution of the plan, but they must be met and overcome." 

General Prim concluded with the request that I would communicate 
his views fully to you, and add that he would be happy to hear and con- 
sider any suggestion the government of the United States would make 
in the way of emendation or modification of matters of detail. 

The tone of the Spanish cabinet has been so manifestly conciliatory, 
and their disposition apparently so earnest for a complete accord with 
the United States, that I have seen no occasion as yet for any intima- 
tion of our future policy, as foreshadowed in your instruction No. 3. It 
is by no means improbable that this government may, before long, as- 
sume a more popular form than it has yet received. If the Cortes fail, 
at their approaching session in October, as is anticipated by many judi- 
cous observers of events, in choosing a king, the most obvious solution 
is in the popular tendencies of the revolution. This consideration has 
increased the force of your admonition " not to arouse or excite any just 
susceptibilities of the government, of the ministers, or of the people of 
Spain." 

The indications of a more tractable popular temper on the subject of 
Cuba are multiplying. Yesterday I was shown an article in the Diario 
de Barcelona decidedly favoring a cession of the island to the United 
States for a fair equivalent; with the reservation, however, that is 
always made in the Spanish journals and in society, as well as by min- 
isters, that the insurrection must first be terminated. The Diario quotes 
from another Catalonian paper, La Gronica de Gataluna, favoring the 
same views. These expressions are the more worthy of notice, appear- 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 31 

ing in journals of reputation, published in the province which has been 
supposed to derive the most advantage from the trade with Cuba; and 
it may be worth while to consider in the course of the negotiation 
whether some reciprocal commercial advantages might not conciliate 
Spanish opinion and interests in favor of the independence of Cuba. 

In regard to the emancipation of slaves in Cuba it is quite probable 
that the disinclination of the Spanish cabinet to enter into engagements 
on the subject at present is attributable in part to the embarrassment 
such action would cause in Porto Rico, as well as in Cuba, where the 
slaveholders are generally the most influential partisans of the home 
government. 



No. 17. 

Mr. Fish to General Sickles. 

[Telegram.] 

Washington, August 24, 1869. 

The propositions of Spain are incompatible with any practicable nego- 
tiation. The representatives of the insurrectionary government are 
necessary parties to a negotiation. Free communication through the 
Spanish lines is immediately necessary. 

The United States cannot ask the insurgents to lay down their arms 
unless the volunteers are simultaneously effectually disarmed, and in 
good faith disbanded. This, if practicable, would require time. We 
want to arrest the destruction of life and property, and to stop the out- 
rages and annoyances to our citizens. An armistice would effect this 
immediately, and the terms of the compensation to be made to Spain by 
Cuba could then be arranged between them under the mediation of the 
United States. 

You may say that we deem an armistice indispensable to the success 
of any negotiation. Spain may in honor grant this at the request of 
the United States, and in deference to the wishes of a friendly power, 
whose good offices she is willing to accept. This being done, negotia- 
tions can immediately be opened that will probably result in peace, and 
her receiving a fair compensation. 



No. 18. 
General McMes to Mr. Fish. 
No. 12. Madrid, August 24, 1869. 

In this relation the recent articles in La Patrie and La France, semi- 
ministerial, are not without interest ; regarding the insurrection as likely 
to be successful, the latter journal suggests that Spain yield the inde- 
pendence of Cuba for an equivalent, to be paid by the, assumption of a 
portion of the public debt of Spain, the independence of the island to be 
guaranteed by the great powers, including the United States. 

The Madrid journals continue the discussion of the Cuban question. 



32 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

The articles in the Epocaare from the editor-in-chief; but for prudential 
reasons he hesitates to commit the paper to his personal views. I have 
reasons for suspecting that the newspaper discussion of the subject is 
stimulated by agents of American parties, who have undertaken the 
purchase of Cuba from Spain as a private enterprise. I do not learn 
that the Spanish cabinet, or any responsible persons here, have counte- 
nanced the scheme. 

Mr. Forbes left Madrid a few days ago for Paris and Hombourg. 

I hear from a well-informed source that the minister of finance is well 
disposed toward our views in reference to Cuba, but that the minister 
of the colonies is hostile to any arrangement looking to the separation 
of the colony from Spain. I have not met any of the cabinet except the 
president of the council and the minister of state. In general, I find 
less susceptibility to the idea of a transfer of the island to the United 
States than to the concession of the independence of Cuba. There is 
an apprehension that the persons and property of Spaniards in Cuba 
would not be safe under Cuban control. This impression, I hear, pre- 
vails in Catalonia. 



No. 19. 

Mr. Fish to General Sielcles. 

[Telegram.] 

Washington, September 1, 1869. 
United States willing to mediate between Spain and Cuba on these 
terms: First, immediate armistice; second, Cuba to recompense Spain 
for public property taken ; United States not to guarantee unless Con- 
gress approve; daily destruction is steadily decreasing value of prop- 
erty for which purchase money is offered ; third, persons and property 
of Spaniards remaining on island protected, but they may at option 
withdraw. To prevent difficulties, as well as to stop bloodshed and de- 
vastation, we must have early decision. These offers withdrawn unless 
accepted before October 1st. Say that anarchy prevails over much of 
island. Murders of American citizens are committed by volunteers. 
Confiscation of their property attempted by Spanish authorities. 



No. 20. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 
[Telegram.] 



September 4, 1869. 



Have communicated formally and fully, in a note to minister of state 
ad interim, all your propositiors and views in relation to Cuba, and have 
asked for early and decisive answer. Prim and Silvela still absent. 

Spanish government expresses much solicitude about detention of gun- 
boats. 



STEUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 33 

No. 21. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

No. 14.] Madrid, September 5, 1869. 

With this dispatch I have the honor to forward a copy of my note to 
Mr. Becerra, minister of state ad interim, presenting formally your propo- 
sitions in relation to the civil war in Cuba, which had been the subject 
of the several conferences with the president of the council and the min- 
ister of state heretofore reported, and asking, in compliance with your 
orders, received by telegraph through our legation in London, on the 
29th of August, for an early and decisive answer. I would have pre- 
ferred, as intimated in my telegram to you of the same date, to await 
the return of the president of the council and the other absent mem- 
bers of the cabinet, including Mr. Silvela, the minister of state, who 
are understood to be least opposed to your views, before pressing an 
immediate decision upon your proposals j but in the absence of any reply 
to my request for further instructions I did not feel authorized to with- 
hold my note any longer after receiving, through Mr. Motley on the 3d 
instant, your telegram of the 1st, the latter part of which, however has 
not yet been intelligibly transmitted. 

Yesterday I had an interview with Mr. Becerra, the minister of state 
ad interim, at his own request. He said he had been informed of the 
detention of the Spanish gunboats by order of the President, and pro- 
ceeded to remonstrate against the measure as unreasonable and evincing 
unfriendly feelings toward Spain. I interrupted him by remarking that 
I had neither instructions nor official information on the subject and in- 
timated that inquiries made at Washington through the Spanish minister 
would doubtless be answered satisfactorily. The minister then said he 
had telegraphed Mr. Roberts on the subject the day before, but desired 
also a conference with me, and went on to observe that Spain had mani- 
fested her friendship for the United States from the period of our revo- 
lutionary struggle for independence down to the recent rebellion and 
that now when Spain was endeavoring to establish free institutions as 
well for her colonies as for herself, they looked for the friendship of the 
"United States, and deprecated this proceeding as calculated to impress 
public opinion in Spain unfavorably with reference to the sentiments of 
the United States. I replied that being without instructions I could 
only report to my government the observations his excellency was pleased 
to make on the subject, but that I must remind him of the proofs the 
President had already given of his friendly disposition in the measures 
taken to enforce a strict neutrality between Spain and her antagonists 
in America, and that it should not be forgotten that there were on 
the one hand sister republics in South America, and, on the other a 
people struggling for self-government and emancipation from the tradi- 
tional severities of Spanish colonial rule. 

The minister rejoined that the president of the council had informed 
him of our conversations in regard to Cuba, and that he quite agreed 
with the views General Prim had expressed to me in relation to the 
future of the island, but that Spain could not with honor treat with the 
insurgents with arms in their hands; and that in this she was governed 
by the same sense of self-respect as animated the United States in their 
refusal to treat with armed insurgents during the southern rebellion 

I observed to the minister that I had been for some time prepared to 
communicate formally to the cabinet of Madrid the propositions of mv 
government in relation to the unfortunate conflict in Cuba, and had onlv 
H. Ex. Doc. 160 3 



34 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

deferred my note until informed officially of his excellency's assumption 
ad interim of the portfolio of foreign affairs ; that now, after this inter- 
view, I should lose no time in placing before him the views of the Presi- 
dent; and that I earnestly hoped they would be acceptable to the Span- 
ish government, and result in a speedy and satisfactory disposition of 
the whole question, and I added that there seemed to be no good reason 
why two liberal governments, animated by the most friendly disposition 
toward each other, should not agree upon a practicable course of action 
in dealing with the struggle in Cuba, which, in truth, was only the as- 
piration of the Cubans for the liberties Spain enjoyed, commended to 
them yet more impressively by the example and experience of the United 
States. 

In rising to take my leave, I alluded to the deplorable character of 
the conflict, and the unprovoked injuries suffered by American citizens 
within the Spanish lines, which I remarked would also be the subject of 
a formal communication at an early day, and to which Mr. Becerra 
promised to give immediate attention. 



General SicMes to Mr. Becerra. 

Madrid, September 3, 1869. 

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United 
States of America, had the honor, on the 31st of July last, to inform his excellency 
Don Manuel Silvela, minister of state of the government of his highness the Regent of 
Spain, that the President of the United States, animated by sentiments of sincere friend- 
ship for Spain, and earnestly desiring to see a speedy termination of the deplorable 
conflict in Cuba, tendered his good offices to the government of Spain for the purpose 
of promoting a settlement of the questions at issue, on a basis alike honorable and ad- 
vantageous to the mother country and to the colony. His excellency the minister of 
state was pleased, on the 10th ultimo, to reply to this friendly overture, " that if the 
United States, by their natural influence in America, are able to contribute to the ces- 
sation of the effusion of blood, to the pacification of the Island of Cuba, and its entrance, 
by the election of its deputies, into the exercise of its rights, the government of Spain 
cannot but be grateful for these good offices," 

The undersigned is happy to be able to assure his excellency, the minister of state, 
that the government of the United States is prepared to exert whatever influence it 
may have Avith the insurgents, to promote the pacification of Cuba. Nevertheless, the 
good offices of the President will be quite unavailing unless both the antagonists are 
disposed to listen to friendly cqunsels. This consideration increased the regret felt by 
the undersigned in having to communicate to his government the further declaration 
of his excellency, the minister of state, that Spain " can come to no definite decision in 
regard to the political situation and future government of the Island of Cuba until the 
insurgents lay down their arms and cease the struggle." 

The undersigned is instructed to state that these conditions are deemed by the Pres- 
ident incompatible with any practicable negotiation. It is not reasonable to hope that 
either party to a long and sanguinary contest will voluntarily abandon it without 
guarantees for the future, in some measure equivalent to the sacrifices it has made. 
The United States cannot ask the insurgents to lay down their arms unless the vol- 
unteers are simultaneously and effectively disarmed, and in good faith disbanded. It 
is notorious that these irregular troops have sometimes set at defiance the authority of 
their government and the orders of their superior officers, when the measures of the 
government have failed to satisfy their vindictive passions and their turbulent demands ; 
and, therefore, the undersigned need not remark upon the insecurity of any reliance upon 
their forbearance if they have the means and the opportunity of assailing the unarmed 
insurgents. Besides the difficulties inseparable from disarming these forces on either 
side, the proceeding, if at all practicable, would consume precious time and delay the 
measures which ought to be taken to arrest the deplorable destruction of life and pro- 
perty in Cuba. The President is convinced that the suspension of hostilities is indis- 
pensable to the success of any negotiation ; and since an armistice may with honor be 
granted in deference to the wishes of a friendly power, he trusts Spain will not refuse 
this concession. The President is, moreover, constrained to look with deep solicitude 
for some speedy action on the part of Spain that will put an end to the unprovoked in- 
juries to American citizens which, as the contest is prolonged, become more and more 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OP CUBA. 35 

frequent and fatal within the Spanish lines. The excesses which have followed the 
domination of the Spanish volunteers in some parts of the island, sparing neither non- 
combatants, nor prisoners of war, nor unoffending citizens of the United States, have 
aroused feelings of indignation and horror, which the refinement and sensibility of the 
Spanish nation will be the first to appreciate. 

During the insurrection in Cuba the government of the United States has, in the ut- 
most good faith and with great success, exerted its power to perform all its duties and 
obligations toward Spain, and to maintain its friendly relations with that power. It 
has been no easy task for the government to restrain its citizens within the bounds 
prescribed by the obligations of one friendly power to another, and to repress the spirit 
of adventure and enterprise from entering the field of a prolonged contest where the 
cry was in favor of liberty, emancipation, and self-government, especially when all the 
claims of neighborhood, of personal intimacies, and of political sympathies were tend- 
ing in the directiou of material aid to the insurrection, and when these tendencies were 
warmed into life by the personal presence and the appeals of those Cubans who were 
either residents of the United States or had sought refuge there from the desolation of 
their country. The government of the United States maintains that it has faithfully 
discharged all these duties. 

Almost a year has passed since Cuba became the theatre of a war which has for its ob- 
ject the emancipation of the population from their colonial relation to Spain, and the 
establishment of an independent state. The struggle has commanded the attention, 
and no small share of the sympathy, of Europe as well as of America. It has already 
marked its track by devastation and ruin ; towns sacked, houses burned, plantations 
destroyed, and lives lost. On either side the war has been one of desolation, and if 
continued, it must result in the destruction of the productive capacity of the island 
and an appalling sacrifice of human life. Measured by its duration, and the means 
employed to suppress it, the insurrection must indeed be formidable. Numerous and 
powerful as have been the armaments Spain has sent against the insurgents, they still 
keep the field in large force, and hold possession of a considerable portion of the 
island. It is not impossible that the Cubans may be conquered, but they can never 
again be contented, happy, or faithful subjects of Spain; and assuming that she may 
eventually subdue the present insurrection, she will find herself in possession of a de- 
vastated territory, inhabited by a discontented people. It is true that in comparison 
with past colonial wars for independence, the insurrection in Cuba has not been of long 
duration. Yet considering the vastly greater facilities for transoceanic communica- 
tion and the many improvements in arms and implements of warfare which have done 
so much to make recent conflicts short and decisive, the struggle in Cuba is approach- 
ing the period when, according to the practice of nations, the recognition of the par- 
ties to the contest as belligerents cannot be delayed. 

The people of the United States cannot be indifferent to the fate of Cuba. The 
spectacle of a population in their immediate neighborhood, long deprived of cherished 
franchises, and maintaining, at the cost of terrible sacrifices, an unequal struggle for 
self-government, could not but touch the sympathies of a generous and free nation. 
Nevertheless, the President has not been unmindful of the obligations which required 
him to confine within purely moral limits the manifestation of sentiments not easily 
to be restrained in popular governments. Nor has he relinquished the hope that 
Spain, herself regenerated by free institutions, might regard with indulgence the aspi- 
rations of the Cubans to enjoy the liberties the people of the parent state justly deem 
indispensable to their welfare and becoming their renown. The enlightened states- 
men of Spain cannot fail to appreciate that the feelings and the affections of the na- 
tive population of the island are not only estranged, but that they are deeply hostile 
to the continuance of Spanish rule. Nor can they fail to recognize the advancing 
growth of that sentiment which claims for every part of the American hemisphere the 
right of self-government and freedom from transatlantic dependence. 

England, bound as she has been to the traditions of the past, tenacious as she has 
been of her possessions, and conservative of all her rights and interests, has not been 
unmindful of the force of this sentiment, and has anticipated events by granting self- 
government to her North American provinces. Denmark, approving the policy of the 
separation of colonies from the parent state, is endeavoring to part with her insular 
possessions. Eussia has set a recent example of parting with her possessions in America. 
Nor are these the only governments in the Old World that are preparing their colonies 
for independence and self-government. It can no longer be a question of national 
dignity, nor can the proper pride or the just susceptibilities of a great power refuse to 
consider the question of a voluntary severance of past relations between itself and dis- 
tant possessions. Spain herself was one of the first of the great European powers to 
cede voluntarily its distant colonial possessions, for she transferred Louisiana to France, 
and subsequently ceded Florida to the United States. France, engaged in war, and 
finding Louisiana liable to military attack, replenished her treasury by its sale, while 
relieving herself of the burden of the defense of a distant possession. The President 
trusts that, with these examples, Spain will now be prepared to consider, and to adopt 



36 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

with respect to Cuba, a like course of wise foresight and enlightened statesmanship. 
In the name of humanity, Spain can afford to arrest this war ; and were it not for her 
traditional pride, and her recognized disregard of all considerations of mere interest 
where her honor is involved, an appeal might be made to these motives, which, after 
all, must be regarded by those who would wisely and prudently conduct the affairs of 
a nation. 

History records but one issue to all the wars in North and South America waged dur- 
ing tbis and the last century by European states to compel the submission of colonies 
which had asserted their independence. Europe has found more advantage in the 
commerce of the rich and prosperous nations which have sprung from the colonies than 
in holding them in costly and precarious subjection. Not a few reasons might be as- 
signed for the belief that, however the struggle in Cuba may be prolonged, it will end 
like those which have preceded it in America. And the undersigned, with the greatest 
respect for the enlightened judgment of the cabinet of Madrid, earnestly commends to 
its consideration the conclusion of the President, that now is the opportune moment 
for Spain to take the measures necessary for a prompt and satisfactory solution of the 
questions presented by the situation in Cuba. 

After much consideration, and a careful survey of the question in all its relations, the 
government of the United States is convinced that it is its duty to exert its friendly 
influence to bring this unhappy contest to a close. Duty to its own citizens, and to 
their large interests jeoparded by the continuance of the war ; the necessity of main- 
taining quiet within its borders, now seriously disturbed by a struggle carried on so 
near its shores ; friendship for Spain, one of the oldest and earliest of our allies, with 
whom no interruption of friendly relations has occurred since our entrance into the 
family of nations ; sympathy for the Cubans, who are our neighbors, all alike impel 
the government to this course. 

The President, therefore, has directed the undersigned to offer formally to the cab- 
inet at Madrid the good offices of the United States, for the purpose of bringing to a 
close the civil war in Cuba, and to propose the following bases of negotiations : 

I. The independence of Cuba to be acknowledged by Spain. 

II. Cuba to pay to Spain a sum, within a time and in a manner to be agreed upon by 
them, as an equivalent for the entire and definite relinquishment by Spain of all her 
rights in that island, including the public property of every description. If Cuba should 
not be able to pay the whole sum at once in cash, the future payments by installments 
to be adequately secured by a pledge of the export and import customs duties, under 
an arrangement to be agreed upon for their collection, in trust, for the purpose of secur- 
ing both principal and interest of those installments until their final discharge. 

III. The abolition of slavery in the Island of Cuba. 

TV. An armistice shall take place so soon as the basis of the negotiations shall be 
agreed upon, and shall continue until the termination of the conference. 

The undersigned reserves for a further communication, in case the good offices of the 
United States are accepted, the views of his government in relation to the proposed 
conference, and the manner in which the negotiation should proceed. The undersigned 
will not have complied with all the instructions of his government if he omits to invite 
the earliest attention of his excellency the minister of state to this communication, in 
order that the President may be informed, as soon as possible, of the decision of the 
government of Spain. 

The undersigned avails himself of this occasion to convey to his excellency the min- 
ister of state assurances of the very distinguished consideration with which he has the 
honor to be, &c. 



No. 22. 
General SicMes to Mr. Fish. 

No. 15.] Madrid, September 8, 1869. 

I have the honor to forward to you a copy of my note to Mr. Becerra, 
the minister of state ad interim, in relation to Charles Speakman and 
Albert Wyeth, executed at Santiago de Cuba. In the further execution 
of your instructions No. 10, I have in the same communication formally 
protested against these deplorable excesses, demanding, in the name of 
humanity, that the war in Cuba, if prolonged, shall not be conducted in 
disregard of the customs and usages of Christian nations. 

The most extravagant rumors are current in relation to my note to 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 37 

Mr. Becerra of the 3d. It seems the government gave out intimations 
of its purport, and these have been accepted as indicating the purpose 
of the United States at an early day to recognize the Cubans as belliger- 
ents, if our mediation be not at once accepted. No small degree of ex- 
citement has followed, and a sudden fall in the Spanish funds is attrib- 
uted to the hostile tone of opinion echoed by several influential jour- 
nals. I inclose some extracts from the " Epoca" and others, that you 
may see the spirit of the press on the subject. 

The president of the council wrote me on the 3d instant from Yichy, 
expressing his regret that his sudden departure prevented him from see- 
ing me before leaving town, and informing me that he would return 
about the 20th and resume our conferences. I replied, acquainting him 
with the urgent tenor of my instructions, and adding that, besides the 
principal question, recent events in Cuba had increased the solicitude 
of the President for the prompt action of the Spanish cabinet. 

* # # # ## # # # 

The republican organization shows increasing vitality and efficiency 
throughout Spain; the difficulties attending the choice of a king dis- 
tract more and more the monarchical party; and the opinion gains 
ground that the further development of the revolution will be in a re- 
publican direction, to which public sentiment obviously inclines. Hence 
the monarchical organs are foremost in their efforts to provoke a mis- 
understanding with the United States, while the republican journals 
have been generally friendly, and have united with their leading parti- 
sans in deprecating any interruption of the good relations now existing 
between the two countries. 

(For Mr. Sickles' note to Senor Becerra see page 104.) 



No. 23. 

Mr. Fish to General Sickles. 

TTelegram.] 

Washington, September 11, 1869. 

We hope there is no truth in the rumor that Spain is about to send 
additional troops to Cuba. It would exhibit a want of confidence in 
the pending negotiation that might compel the withdrawal of the offer 
of this government to attempt a reconciliation. It might prolong the 
struggle, and the destruction of life and property, with questionable in- 
fluence on the result. It certainly would embarrass the negotiations. 

You are at liberty, in your discretion, to communicate this view to 
the Spanish government. Tou will advise me by telegraph of their in- 
tention with respect to the sending of additional troops. 



No. 24. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

[Telegram.] 

September 14, 1869. 
Telegram received. Have asked Motley to repeat parts not intelli- 
gible. Additional troops had been heretofore announced for fall cam- 



38 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

paigu. Anticipated recognition of insurgents as belligerents causes 
much excitement and ill-temper. Press of all parties urge government 
to send large re-enforcements of men and ships at once. One batallion 
has sailed. No doubt active measures are hastened by fear of early 
recognition. It is reported that Spain has communicated my note of 
3d of September to European cabinets and asked their advice and co- 
operation. I have asked interview with minister, and will report result 
immediately. 



No. 25. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

No. 17.] September 14, 1869. 

In a lull and frank interview held to-day with his excellency Mr. Becerra, 
minister of the colonies and charged ad interim with the department of 
foreign affairs, I brought to his notice the rumor, which has been current 
for some days past, that the Spanish government had opened negotia- 
tions with other European powers on the subject of my note of Septem- 
ber 3, and asked if there was any foundation for this statement. 

His excellency at once replied that there was none ; that the govern- 
ment had not communicated my note to any other power ; that no answer 
had as yet been sent to me on account of the absence of the president 
of the council and the minister of state ; and that, in a matter of such 
gravity, the government could take no definite action before the meeting 
of the Cortes. 

I expressed my gratification that the statement to which I had referred 
was erroneous, adding that, as the overtures of the United States had 
been made in a friendly spirit, and with the greatest reserve, if the circle 
of discussion was to be widened by the introduction of other powers, 
the government of the United States would desire to be informed of this 
action. 

I then said that, in view of the tender of good offices made by the United 
States government for the purpose of promoting a prompt and satisfac- 
tory termination of hostilities, the President would learn with regret of 
the intention of Spain to send large re-enforcements to Cuba, inasmuch as 
this would indicate either that Spain is indisposed to accept our friendly 
offices, or despairs of reaching a favorable result through the pending 
negotiations. 

His excellency replied that the Cuban question was altogether domes- 
tic 5 that, highly as the government of Spain valued the friendly offices 
of the United States, it could only proceed in a legal and constitutional 
way 5 that it could not yield to the armed insurrection ; that its first duty 
was to restore order in Cuba by force of arms ; but, not restricting itself 
to this, it would at the same time extend to the island the fullest reforms 
and the widest liberties enjoyed in the peninsula; a general amnesty would 
be granted ; it would make immediate preparations for the election of 
deputies in Cuba ; on their arrival in Madrid the government and the 
Cortes could, in concert, determine the future destiny of the island, 
including a scheme for the gradual and entire abolition of slavery. The 
Spanish government had frankly and gratefully accepted the good offices 
of the United States ; but the bases proposed in my note of September 
3 were such as it was out of the power of the Spanish government to 
accept; that, while recognizing the friendly spirit and the loyalty with 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 39 

which they were offered, they could not be adopted in the present state 
of public opinion in Spain. That the mediation of any nation in a purely 
domestic question was incompatible with the honor of Spain ; that the 
permanent committee of the Cortes, representing all shades of politics, 
had unanimously voted that the independence of Cuba was inadmissible 
as a basis of negotiation; and that, by the terms of the constitution, no 
measure could be taken without the consent of the Cortes that might 
result in any alienation of Spanish territory. His excellency hoped that 
it might be possible for me to withdraw the note of September 3. He 
said that this would relieve the Spanish government, and enable it to 
proceed more expeditiously with the liberal plan which it had adopted. 

I replied that the United States, in making the propositions in ques- 
tion, had no purpose of aggrandizement, and only desired to put an end 
to the calamities that now desolated the Island of Cuba ; that if the 
bases proposed were not likely to accomplish this result, I had no doubt 
I would be authorized to withdraw the propositions. 

In reply to my earnest representations of the necessity for an armis- 
tice as the essential preliminary to any satisfactory arrangement, his 
excellency said that no one could be more anxious for an armistice than 
he and his colleagues in the government ; the difficulty was, how to bring 
it about in a proper manner. 

His excellency then informed me that a report from the Captain General 
of Cuba had been called for in relation to the cases of Speakman and 
Wyeth, and, if the facts were as alleged, full reparation would be made 
to the families of the deceased ; and he added that orders had been given 
to prevent such scenes of cruelty in the future conduct of the war. 

The foregoing resume of our conversation, which occupied more than 
an hour, having been sent to the minister of state ad interim for his 
revision, he has returned it to me with the following remarks : " The 
dispatch of your excellency contains in its ensemble a faithful and suffi- 
ciently exact resume of the conference which we had on the 14th. For 
my part, I have only one point to rectify, and if I explain some others, it 
is with the desire that there shall be nothing which can give rise to 
doubts, and not because the explanation is absolutely indispensable. 
That which I wish to rectify is in regard to the resolution of the perma- 
nent commission of the Cortes. That commission unanimously decided 
to tender to the government all the means at its disposal to extinguish 
the rebellion, and also to oppose our treating on the subject of Cuba with 
any foreign power." 

His excellency proceeds to explain the meaning of this resolution, and 
to amplify other points mentioned in the resume. This communication 
may indeed be regarded as an expression of the views of the cabinet of 
Madrid in relation to the pending negotiation, and I shall inclose a copy 
of it with this dispatch. 



Mr. Becerra to General SicMes. 
Translation.] 

September 16, 1869. 

Mr. Valera handed me yesterday the copy of the dispatch which you had the good- 
ness to send him through the secretary of your legation, but the dispatch was delivered 
to me so late that I had not sufficient time to examine it with the necessary leisure, so 
as to make a slight correction and certain explanations which struck me as proper for 
the purpose which we propose; that is, to accomplish the pacification of Cuba, and to 



40 STKUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

terminate a civil war, which cannot hut prove the more disastrous the more it is pro- 
longed. I heg your pardon for this involuntary delay, and repeat my cordial thanks 
for the interest you have manifested that this matter may be ended promptly and well, 
a result which can hardly fail to be reached, those who are managing the matter being 
animated equally by good faith and the best desires. 

The dispatch of your excellency contains in its ensemble a faithful and sufficiently 
exact resume' of the conference which we had on the 14th. For my part, I have only 
one point to rectify, and if I explain some others, it is with the desire that there shall 
be nothing which can give rise to doubts, and not because the explanation is abso- 
lutely indispensable. 

That which is to rectify is in regard to the decision of the permaneut commission of 
the Cortes. That commission unanimously decided to tender to the government all 
the means at its disposal to extinguish the rebellion, and decided to oppose the gov- 
ernment's treating on the subject of Cuba with any foreign power. You will perceive 
that the idea of the commission was no other than to oppose a mediation or interven- 
tion in our domestic affairs, which would result in diminishing and tarnishing the sov- 
ereignty of the Spanish people, whom the Cortes to-day represent completely, and of 
whose honor and sovereignty they are so jealous ; but the Cortes cannot oppose our 
coming to a friendly understanding for the termination of the struggle, the cabinet of 
Washington interposing its good offices, which we accept with gratitude, to induce the 
Cubans, who, residing in the United States, are in correspondence with the insurgents, 
to pursuade them to lay down their arms, assuring and promising them that Spain 
will give them amnesty and full liberties, and will summon to Madrid the legitimate 
representatives of that ultramarine province. These can set forth frankly their griev- 
ances, and make known their aspirations, which being, as they of course will be, those 
of the immense majority of the islanders, cannot fail to be satisfied without having 
recourse to violence, and solely by the infallible, legal, and peaceful means which a 
constitution so free as ours provides. 

It is upon this point alone, I repeat, that a rectification is necessary. On the others 
I am agreed. You will, however, permit me to explain briefly a few of them. 

In regard to the negotiations with other powers on the subject of your note, I said 
the current rumor was false. As Spain will not negotiate with the United States upon 
a subject like that of Cuba, which relates to its internal policy and government, 
neither will she negotiate with any other power. If Spain hopes to preserve Cuba 
united to the metropolis, it is because she trusts that a majority of the islanders regard 
it still an honor and a privilege to be Spaniards, and because she trusts that the few 
insurgents will soon be brought to terms, if not by persuasion, by force, however pain- 
ful it would be to us to continue to employ this means. It is likewise inexact that we 
have transmitted a copy of your note to any foreign government. 

As to the armistice, I do not think I said I desired it, but that I desired peace ; but 
as it is evident that he who desires the end desires the means, it is also true that I de- 
sire the armistice if this is necessarily an effective means of obtaining peace. In this 
sense, I will write to the Captain General of Cuba, but can only suggest to him the pro- 
priety of an armistice, if it is to terminate in pacification. I cannot make it an order, be- 
cause only he who holds the chief command of an armed force, and upon whom de- 
pend the lives of so many men and the issue of the campaign, ought to decide if an 
armistice is proper and opportune. 

Finally, with or without armistice, you know what Spain promises and is disposed 
to grant to the insurgents. They have only to ask for peace, and they will have it ; 
and with peace, all the promises heretofore mentioned truly and loyally fulfilled. If 
they do not want peace, the war will continue with energy and activity on our part, 
but pardoning the vanquished and prisoners, and striving to avoid all shedding of blood 
through revenge, and all reprisals, however horrible and cruel may be the acts of the 
insurgents. 

I have nothing more to add, except to beg anew that you will insist upon being au- 
thorized to withdraw your note, and that it may be withdrawn. This will be the best 
way to enable Spain, without its being said that she yields to any pressure, to give most 
freely what she offers. In this way it can be gratefully accepted in Cuba, and in this 
way our moderation (Mandura) cannot be censured in Spain as unworthy weakness. 

Mr. Valera said it might be necessary to add a word or two which had been omitted 
in our yesterday's interview. Mr. Becerra might put in still stronger language the 
intention of the government to make full reparation for the outrageous execution of 
Speakman and Wyeth at Santiago. Admiral Topete was much incensed when he read 
General Sickles's note on the subject, saying that the matter must be instantly investi- 
gated, and if Palacios, the governor, had been guilty of the brutality charged, he should 
be removed and punished. 

Another word might possibly be added in regard to the gunboat question. This is a 
much graver cause of preoccupation than General Sickles's note. It is true the bases 
contained in that note are not acceptable, and cannot be entertained ; he could say 
this with certainty now, as both Messrs. Prim and Silvela had answered in that sense ; 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 41 

but neither of them considered the note an unfriendly one, but on the contrary dictated 
by a sincere desire of the United States to see the struggle brought to an end. But the 
matter of the gunboats was one of especial gravity. The pretext that they were in- 
tended to be used in any way against Peru was not serious ; the war with the South 
American republics was over. The seizure of the gunboats seemed to indicate a hostile 
interior toward Spain. If this exists, Spain must and will face the situation thus 
created. " But if we are forced into war with the United States," he said, " we are not 
so innocent (candides) as to think we are going to have any allies in Europe. We ex- 
pect to fight it out alone, whatever the issue may be. We have made no overtures to 
any power for help." 



No. 26. 

Mr. Fish to General SicMes. 

[Telegram.] 

Washington, September 15, 1869. 
If a negotiation were made on the basis of the six successive steps 
mentioned in your dispatch No. 10, omitting the plebiscit, can the presi- 
dent of council give assurance that if the United States induced the in- 
surgents to lay down arms, and deputies to the Cortes be elected by 
Cuba, that the Cortes will grant independence f The plebiscit is imprac- 
ticable, because in the present circumstances and conditions of the island, 
a popular vote can be no indication of the popular will, and this must be 
borne in mind with reference to any election to be held for deputies. It 
is doubtful if the insurgents will consent to lay down arms, but if their 
early independence can be assured thereby, the United States will make 
every effort to induce them to do so. 



No. 27. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

[Telegram.] 

September 16, 1869. 

Long interview Tuesday with foreign secretary ad interim. Notes of 
conversation subsequently exchanged. Am now able to send resume. 

First. Spain frankly and gratefully accepts good offices of United 
States, but cannot accept bases proposed, and asks withdrawal of my 
note of September 3d. Spain desires, without appearance of pressure, 
to make the concessions she offers to Cuba. 

Second. Permanent commission of Cortes now in session, representing 
all parties, unanimously assure government all the means at their dis- 
posal to put down rebellion; they oppose treating about Cuba with any 
foreign power; not objecting, however, to a friendly understanding with 
the United States by which their good offices may help to end the 
struggle. 

Third. Spain has not begun and does not contemplate negotiations 
with any foreign power about Cuba, or the proposed mediation of the 
United States, nor has my note been communicated to any foreign gov- 
ernment. 

Fourth. Spain desires to terminate civil war in Cuba, and will agree 
to armistice if necessary to peace. This measure will be recommended 
to Captain General of Cuba, but must be left to his discretion. 



42 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OP CUBA. 

Fifth. Spain is ready at once to give Cuba ample reforms and widest 
liberties enjoyed in peninsula, also general amnesty and gradual emanci- 
pation of slaves. 

These refused, the war will be prosecuted with energy and activity, 
pardoning, however, the vanquished and prisoners, and striving to pre- 
vent all shedding of blood through revenge, and all reprisals, whatever 
the provocation from insurgents. 

Sixth. Separation promised in cases of Speakman and Wyeth. Orders 
given to prevent such cruelties hereafter. 

Full report will go by next mail. Will telegraph further particulars 
if desired. 

Spain regards Cuban question as purely domestic, and will not, in my 
judgment, accept mediation. If our offer be withdrawn, and friendly 
relations continue, our good offices can mitigate the cruel character of 
the war, promote liberal concessions, and perhaps bring about an ar- 
mistice. 

Two more transports have started for Cuba with troops, from twelve 
to twenty thousand rumored under arms, besides six war vessels. Will 
report departures as they occur. 



No. 28. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

[Telegram.] 

September 17, 1869. 
Telegram of 15th received. 'President of council expected in Madrid 
on or before 21st. Discretionary authority to withdraw pending offer 
of mediation will facilitate new negotiation. Information about recog- 
nition and gunboats desirable before further overtures. Cortes would 
probably insist on plebiscit. Perhaps the obstacles to a fair vote 
may be removed by an armistice or by a simultaneous disarmament of 
volunteers and insurgents. Suggest answer direct by French cable and 
duplicate through Motley. 



No. 29. 
General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

No. 19.] Madrid, September 19, 1869. 

In the execution of the instructions contained in your telegram of the 
13th instant, you will have observed in the report already transmitted 
in my dispatch No. 17, that I withheld any intimation of the probable 
withdrawal of our proposed offer of mediation. In the present temper 
of the cabinet, which more or less reflects an excited public opinion, 
the suggestion would have had no influence in preventing the movement 
of re-enforcements to Cuba, whilst it might have increased the obvious 
disquietude of this government to be subjected to any appearance of 
pressure at this moment. 

Nevertheless the interview of the 14th had not proceeded far before 
the minister himself stated that Spain would be embarrassed in the 



• STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 43 

execution of the liberal policy it contemplated in relation to Cuba, unless 
niy note of the 3d instant, proposing the mediation of the United States, 
were withdrawn, and that he therefore hoped this might be done. It 
' will not escape your notice that, in my reply, I waived any allusion to 
the withdrawal of the note, and confined myself to the expression of a 
mere opinion that my government would not hesitate to withdraw the 
proposals it had made, if convinced that these would not contribute to the 
pacification of Cuba ; that our offer had been made for that purpose only, 
and without any motive of present or ulterior advantage to the United 
States. 

It is needless to trouble you with further details of the interview, as 
the synopsis forwarded by telegraph, day before yesterday, together 
with the brief report already transmitted in my No. 17, and Mr. Becerra's 
note inclosed with it, will put you in possession of all that transpired, 
except the arguments and observations of the minister and myself 
respectively in support of our views. The conference was marked by 
the same cordiality that has heretofore agreeably characterized my inter- 
course with the Foreign Office. 

I have not yet deemed it opportune, in view of the commotion caused 
by our proposed mediation on the basis of independence, to suggest to 
Mr. Becerra the modifications of our offer communicated in your instruc- 
tions by telegram through Mr. Motley, dated 1st instant, and received 
correctly on the 5th. These modifications, as well as the new bases 
mentioned in your instructions, received by telegraph on the 16th instant, 
will be the subject of an early conference with the president of the 
council when he returns to Madrid. 

* t£ # # ^ ^ # 

I inclose with this dispatch a decree organizing a commission to con- 
sider and propose within thirty days a plan of political and admin- 
istrative reform for Porto Bico, including the abolition of slavery. It is 
preceded by a decree dissolving a former commission, and establishing 
another to prepare and submit forthwith the necessary changes in the 
penal code of the Peninsula to make it applicable to the colonies. The 
report of the colonial minister, preceding the decree in relation to Porto 
Bico, is not without interest in its recognition of the cogent reasons 
demanding radical changes in Spanish colonial government, and thorough 
reforms in colonial administration. Other decrees are foreshadowed, 
establishing freedom of worship in Cuba, and providing for the election 
of deputies to the Cortes ; although several times announced semi-offi- 
cially as forthcoming, they have not yet appeared. 

I am assured by the president of the Cortes that among the first sub- 
jects brought before that body will be the cruel and vindictive manner 
in which the war in Cuba is prosecuted, and he feels confident the Cortes 
will require the most energetic measures to be taken by the govern- 
ment to prevent hereafter the outrages which have been so justly de- 
nounced by the United States. Captain G-eneral Concha, Marquis of 
Duro, has likewise expressed to me his abhorrence of the treatment of 
prisoners of war and other captives in Cuba, and will move actively in 
the matter on the assembling of the Cortes, where his high military repu- 
tation and personal character will exercise their just influence. Other 
prominent personages have given me similar assurances. 

I have sent confidential instructions to the consuls at Cadiz, Barcelona, 
and Malaga to inform me of all movements of troops embarked for Cuba, 
and of vessels of war leaving those ports for the Spanish West Indian 
fleet. I have already received a report from General Duffle, announcing 
the departure of one thousand five hundred infantry from Cadiz, and that 



44 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

five or six hundred more are there preparing to embark. The departure 
of the frigate Almansas from Carthagena, bound for Havana, is announced 
to-day. I have not sent to our consuls at Carthagena or Santander for 
information, as they seem to be Spaniards. 



MINISTRY OF TRANSMARINE AFFAIRS. — STATEMENT. 

Sir : By a decree of September 29, 1866, a commission was appointed whose duty it 
was " to examine and propose a reform of the penal laws in force in our transmarine 
possessions," and also to propose "the principles and rules whereby judgments in crim- 
inal cases shall be governed " in those territories. 

This commission, taking as its basis the penal code which is in force in the peninsula, 
and accepting as its object the application of said code in our transmarine possessions, 
has labored to facilitate the same by means of some reforms in the text. But these la- 
bors do not embrace the whole code, nor do they refer to the enforcement of the penal 
code, which was, and justly so, one of the principal ends for which the commission was 
appointed. 

It is important to carry out this intention, and it would be a matter of great regret, 
if, by reason of its being unduly extended, any obstacle should be placed in the way of 
its speedy accomplishment. Hence, the undersigned minister is of opinion that the 
duties of the aforesaid commission being considered at an end, another should be ap- 
pointed to examine and propose the various reforms and modifications whereby our pe- 
nal code may be applied to our various transmarine territories, and at the same time 
to prepare a provisional law for the application of the code, deferring the elaborate 
preparation of a law for judicial procedure until some future time. 

In this manner, limiting its task to the examination of the common penal law, and to 
the form of its immediate application, the committee will be able to accomplish this as 
speedily as the government of your highness and our brethren beyond the sea desire 
and need. 

With these considerations the undersigned minister has the honor to submit to the 
approval of your highness the accompanying plan of a decree. 

The Minister of Transmarine Affairs, 

MANUEL BECERRA. 

Madrid, September 10, 1869. 



DECREE. 

In accordance with the suggestion of the minister of transmarine affairs, made with 
the approval of the council of ministers, I decree as follows : 

Article 1. The commission which was appointed by the decree of September 29, 
1866, to examine and propose reforms in the penal laws in force in the transmarine pos- 
sessions of Spain, is hereby dissolved. 

Art. 2. Another commission is appointed in its stead, to consist of a president, five 
voting members, and a secretary, who shall have the right to vote, and it shall be the 
duty of said commission, first, to propose as speedily as possible such alterations as may 
be necessary in the penal code now in force in the peninsula, in order to apply the 
same to the various Spanish territories lying beyond the sea ; secondly, to prepare, 
likewise with all speed, a provisional law for the application of the same code ; thirdly, 
to examine and propose the basis of a law for judicial procedure in criminal cases for 
the said territories. 

Art. 3. The ministry of transmarine affairs will furnish the commission with the data 
and information which it possesses, and will further give the necessary orders for the 
execution of this decree. 

Done at Madrid, September 10, 1869. 

FRANCISCO SERRANO. 

Manuel Becerra, 

Minister of Transmarine Affairs. 



STATEMENT. 



Sir : The day being at hand for our legislative body to renew its labors, and the le- 
gitimate representatives of Porto Rico being now present in the metropolis, the time 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 45 

has arrived for the fulfillment of the just duty and of the solemn obligation imposed 
upon us by the September revolution toward the Spaniards beyond the sea. 

Spain is not limited to the peninsula which is bounded by the Mediterranean and the 
Atlantic. The community of race and traditions which is manifested by a common 
language and a glorious history, never tarnished by disloyalty , clearly shows that na- 
tions are made principally by means of moral bonds of union far stronger than misfor- 
tunes and errors. If governments that distrusted the national spirit by which they 
disdained to be actuated, hoped more from the always doubtful efficacy of external and 
violent means than from the attractive virtue of national solidarity, never appealed to 
in vain among our people, it is now time to seek, in the free manifestation of the aspi- 
rations of all, that potent union and that dauntless courage whereby we may recover 
the position which history claims for us, and which of right belongs to us in the coun- 
cil and assembly of enlightened nations. Sovereign Spain cannot deprive any of her 
members of that portion of sovereignty which is their due. 

The revolutionary movement, therefore, was very soon made in our transmarine posses- 
sions, and gave rise to legitimate as well as encouraging hopes. But, in an unfortunate 
hour, by reason of inveterate feelings of distrust, by reason of the excessive exaggera- 
tion of past offenses, perhaps also by reason of inordinate aspirations, this movement, 
which ought to have been as measured, as regular, and as productive of good as in the 
peninsula, stepped beyond the limits within which it should have confined itself, rais- 
ing the flag of rebellion in Cuba, to violate the sacred integrity of the Spanish nation. 

In presence of such a danger the honor of the country, the duty of the government, 
the vital interests of the revolution, peremptorily demanded the defense of the territory, 
and, as a consequence of the state of hostilites, the much to be regretted but necessary 
postponement of reforms, so that these might not be confounded with the timorous and 
arbitrary reforms of past times, nor fail to appear solemnly consecrated by the action 
and free consent of all interested in them, thus strengthening with firmer bonds than 
those of force the lasting union of Cuba and Spain. 

But if such invincible obstacles temporarily prevent the Spanish revolution from ex- 
ercising its political influence in the most precious of our Antilles, this is not the case 
in Porto Rico, and the government being free from the well-founded apprehensions 
which the state of affairs in Cuba cause it to entertain with respect to that island, 
when the question is to radically change the political and social system there prevail- 
ing, it is proper to show how energetic, honest, and sincere is its desire to admit the 
colonies to the full enjoyment of their rights, and to an untrammeled participation 
in the great conquests of modern civilization. 

A deplorable and pertinacious tradition of despotism, which, if it could ever be 
justified, is without a shadow of reason at the present time, intrusted the direction and 
management of our colonial establishment to the agents of the metropolis, destroying, 
by their dominant and exclusive authority, the vital energies of the country, and the 
creative and productive activity of free individuals. 

And although the system may now have improved in some of its details, the domin- 
eering action of the authorities being less felt, it still appears full of the original error, 
which is upheld by the force of tradition, and the necessary influence of interests 
created under their protection, which doubtless are deserving of respect, so far as they 
are reconcilable with the requirements of justice, with the common welfare, and with 
the principles on which every liberal system should be founded. 

A change of system, political as well as administrative, is, therefore, imperatively 
demanded. To declare and respect the inalienable rights of persons, municipalities, 
and provinces, to seek to bring about administrative centralization, allowing the 
widest freedom of action to municipal boards and provincial deputations, as legitimate, 
immediate, and direct organs and representatives of the people electing them ; to 
simplify the complicated mechanism of the superior administration, restoring to those 
natural centers the powers which of right belong to them, and as a political guarantee 01 
still greater importance, firmly to establish the public representation, at one time near 
the colonial government, at another near that of the metropolis, or in both at once, if 
it should be possible and necessary — such is, in brief, the general intention of the un- 
dersigned minister. 

But, in order that these intentions may be duly fulfilled, and that their results may be 
felt by all alike, it is indispensable to solve one of the most difficult social problems, 
at once the danger and the glory of our epoch. Errors arising from a false view of life 
sacrificed for more than three centuries the personal liberty of thousands of beings to 
the idea of preparing for them a greater degree of happiness after death. Mistaken 
notions of economy were joined to these, seeking in forced labor that wealth and pro- 
duction which are found far more abundantly in free labor. But neither do the eternal 
laws of morality, which permit not even a good end to be attained through unjust 
means, nor does the mission of the state, which, as the supreme organ of right, ought 
to respect it under all circumstances and above all interests, permit the existence of 
slavery, with its horrors and dangers, to continue any longer, without an act of immor- 
ality and injustice. This was recognized by the commissioners appointed to propose 



46 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

political, moral, and social reforms in Cnba and Porto Rico; without for this reason 
forgetting, as the undersigned likewise will not forget, the just respect due to material 
interests created under the protection of ancient institutions and laws. No progress, 
no advancement of humanity is ever accomplished by an absolute disregard of a pre- 
viously existing state of things, unjust though this may have been ; for, notwithstand- 
ing its injustice, it has given rise to human relations, the consideration of which it is 
neither right nor prudent, much less politic, to lay aside, thereby reaching a solution 
which will only be productive of lasting disturbances. 

Besides this, the serious difficulties presented by every social change ; the discretion 
with which liberty should be accorded to persons whom it was considered a crime to 
call human beings, and for whom labor has been a permanent sign of servitude, disap- 
pear almost entirely where the white and civilized population is much more numerous 
than the colored, and where the majority of the latter have been able to earn a sub- 
sistence, and even competence and wealth by free labor, which experience, as well as 
the teachings of economical science, has shown to be the most beneficial and productive. 
In order happily and speedily to effect these important changes, which, notwithstand- 
ing the urgent call for them, must receive serious and conscientious study, the under- 
signed proposes to your highness the appointment of a commission composed of per- 
sons of high character, and having a knowledge of the real necessities of the country, 
who, in a brief and determined space of time, but not insufficient for those who must 
already have formed their opinions, shall propose such reforms and plans as may be 
necessary to harmonize the social, political, and administrative situation of the Island 
of Porto Rico with the imperative demands of justice and morality, and, as far as pos- 
sible, with the principles laid down in the democratic constitution of the Spanish 
nation, which ought to be applied, as soon as possible, to those remote countries. 

With the foregoing considerations, the undersigned has the honor to submit to the 
approval of your highness the accompanying plan of a decree. 

Madrid, September 10, 1869. 

The Minister of Transmarine Affairs, 

MANUEL BECERRA. 



In view of the statements made by the minister of transmarine affairs, with the ap- 
proval of the council of ministers, I decree as follows : 

Article 1. A commission is hereby appointed, whose duty it shall be to discuss and 
propose to the minister of transmarine affairs the principles in accordance with which 
shall be made all plans of laws for political and administrative reform, and for the abo- 
lition of slavery in the Island of Porto Rico. 

Art. 2. This commission shall consist of a president, and the minister of transmarine 
affairs shall act in this capacity ; of fifteen voting members, and the under secretary of 
the ministry, who shall act as secretary, with voice and vote. The voting members 
shall elect the vice-president. 

Art. 3. The commission shall remain in office for thirty days precisely, from the 
moment of entering upon the discharge of its duties, which shall take place three days 
after the publication of the present decree. 

Art. 4. The ministry of transmarine affairs will furnish to the commission such data 
and information as it may possess, and the necessary orders will be given for the execu- 
tion of this decree. 

Done at Madrid, September 10, 1869. 

FRANCISCO SERRANO. 

The Minister of Transmarine Affairs, 
Manuel Becerra. 



No. 30. 

Mr. Fish to General Sickles. 

[Telegram.] 

Washington, /September 23, 1869. 
The good offices of the United States were tendered in a spirit of mu- 
tual friendship, and in the interest of humanity, of Spain, of Cuba, and 
of the United States. If the tender be not acceptable to Spain you may 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 47 

withdraw it, and you may say that those good offices will be ready when- 
ever they can tend to a settlement of the unhappy contest that is de- 
vastating Cuba, and injuring the commercial interests of this and of 
other nations. 

The gunboats were arrested on the request of Peru, who claims to be 
at war with Spain. We cannot deny the condition of war as an abstract 
fact, inasmuch as we have offered, and both parties have accepted our 
mediation. Peru claims that although these boats may not go to Peru 
they will release from employment other portions of the Spanish navy, 
and strengthen her in case the pending mediations do not result in a 
peace. Our position of impartial neutrality compelled their detention. 

No step has been taken toward a recognition of the belligerency of the 
insurgents of Cuba. But this government cannot forestall its future 
necessities. If belligerency be recognized at all, it will be because the 
necessities of the case and the complications of the controversy force it 
upon us. Your dispatch No. 14 this day received. Your instructions in 
dispatch No. 2 from. this department directed you to read those instruc- 
tions to the minister, and to leave a copy with him. 



No. 31. 
General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

No, 21.1 September 25, 1869. 

Your telegram of the 23d instant having called my attention to the 
direction contained in your instructions No. 2, to read those instructions 
to the minister of state and leave the office copy with him, it becomes 
proper for me to state more fully than I had deemed necessary my au- 
thority and reasons for adopting another form of communication. Your 
instructions No. 3 required me to avail myself of Mi. Forbes' assistance 
in this negotiation, and in the event of his reaching Madrid, and notify- 
ing the Spanish cabinet informally of the nature of our propositions, be- 
fore my arrival, to govern myself in their formal and official presentation 
somewhat by his report and advice. On my arrival in Madrid Mr. 
Forbes informed me that he had communicated to the president of the 
council the propositions contained in your instructions No. 2, and that 
he had not received them favorably ; that General Prim's colleagues in 
the cabinet were yet more disinclined toward our views ; that in his (Mr. 
Forbes's) judgment Spain would not negotiate upon the bases we pro- 
posed, and that to communicate them formally would not only result in 
their prompt rejection, but embarrass further negotiations. 

On this report, and on the advice of Mr. Forbes, which was confirmed 
by my own infoimation, I deferred the formal communication of your 
instructions No. 2, and informed you of my determination and the reasons 
for it in my dispatch No. 4 of the 12th ultimo. Subsequent interviews 
with the president of the council and the minister of state only made 
more apparent the wide difference between your views and the present 
policy of Spain, and I proceeded at once to ascertain, by means of frank 
and informal conversations with the president of the council, the bases 
on which Spain would be willing to negotiate. These I had the honor 
to report in my telegram of the 13th, and in my dispatches Nos. 8, 9, 
and 10, of the 16th, 20th, and 21st ultimo. 

The serious obstacle to the negotiation appearing to be not in the 



48 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

independence of Cuba, but in the preliminaries — Spain being unwilling 
to accept tbe formal mediation of the United States, or to agree to an 
armistice, or in any manner to recognize the insurgents as parties to a 
negotiation — I would have preferred to confine myself for the present to 
the informal presentation and discussion of our propositions and views, 
in the hope that I might thereby promote an accord between the two 
governments and avoid a formal refusal to entertain our offer of media- 
tion. 

Tour telegram of August 29, instructing me that the propositions of 
the president of the council afforded no practicable basis of negotiation, 
and that the president desired an early and decisive answer to our offer 
of mediation, made it my duty at once to communicate it formally to this 
cabinet. This I proceeded to do in a note to the minister of state rather 
than in the form your instructions No. 2 had indicated, because the 
conferences which had taken place meanwhile had advanced the nego- 
tiation considerably, and if I had not availed myself of the latitude given 
me in your instructions No. 3, I would have surrendered an obvious ad- 
vantage gained in the initiative already taken, besides affording the 
minister an opportunity to ignore our offer altogether, by simply declin- 
ing to receive the copy of your instructions, as is usually done when 
cabinets do not choose to engage in a discussion. 

It was, moreover, necessary, in the execution of your further instruc- 
tions, to communicate views not embodied in your No. 2, and yet depend- 
ing upon it for their relation to the discussion. In doing this it seemed 
to me preferable, if not essential, to embody all I had to say on the sub- 
ject in a note which had for its apparent object a reply to the communi- 
cation made to me on the 10th of August by the minister of state, and 
thus present the whole case to this government in a form that avoided 
the inconvenience and the risk of two communications, one of which 
might not be received at all. 

It is quite true, as was foreseen, that this cabinet find our offer em- 
barrassing to them, and ask that the communication may be withdrawn; 
yet it is now quite at the option of the United States to have the formal 
and definite answer of this government to their offer of mediation, which, 
from the tenor of your recent instructions, appeared to be most desirable. 

In respectfully submitting this explanation, and commending it to your 
candor, 1 have only to add that in all my proceedings, and especially in 
the exercise of the discretion confided to me, " every consideration of hu- 
manity, as well as of interest," admonished me " so to shape this nego- 
tiation within the bine of your instructions as to bring it to a successful 
result, if possible." 



No. 32. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

No. 22.] Madrid, September 25, 1869. 

On Thursday, the 23d, I had an interview at the Foreign Office, by 
request of the minister of state, with Mr. Silvela and Mr. Becerra. 
The minister of state asked me if I had received any instructions from 
my government in regard to the withdrawal of our offer of intervention 
in the affair of Cuba. I replied that I had not — and this led to some 
desultory conversation which need not be reported, as the same matters 
were discussed more fully with the president of the council the next day. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 49 

Mr. Silvela then spoke of two letters which he had just received from 
America ; one from the Spanish consul at New York, announcing the 
departure of an armed vessel from Cedar Keys for Cuba with six guns, 
four thousand rifles, and two hundred men 5 and the other from Mr. 
Eoberts, detailing the difficulties which the American government 
threw in the way of the departure of the Spanish gunboats in New York. 
He enlarged upon the apparent unfriendliness of this action. 

I replied that Cedar Keys was so insignificant and remote a point that 
there might well be some exaggeration in the report that had reached 
the Spanish consul ; that even if it were true, it only proved that the 
insurgents, prevented by the government from fitting out expeditions in 
the principal ports of the United States, sought these remote and 
obscure places along our immense coast line which it was impossible to 
guard entirely. The government of the United States had loyally and 
with great success exerted itself to preserve a strict" neutrality in the 
war which Spain was carrying on with Cuba. It had arrested and 
broken up numerous expeditionary parties ; it had very recently arrested 
two more expeditions and subjected the participators to trial ; it was not 
possible to do more than it had done. 

Mr. Silvela very frankly admitted the zeal and good faith with which 
the American government had fulfilled its obligations ; he only mentioned 
this case because the two letters had come together. It was not that he 
meant to complain of this isolated case of the escape of an expedition ; 
but he thought the matter of the gunboats a very important one in its 
bearings on the good relations of the United States and Spain. The Cortes 
were soon to assemble ; as soon as they were opened, one of the earliest 
interpellations would be in relation to Cuba. The government is anxious 
to put the matter properly before the chambers ; they hope to be able to 
say that the United States have offered their friendly offices to give a 
more humane character to the war. To check the bloodshed and devas- 
tation which have marked it ; to their humanitary intervention Spain 
can properly consent, out of consideration to a friendly power ; the war 
being divested of its savage character, an armistice would be soon 
attainable, for, say six months ; after that it is most probable that hos- 
tilities would never be resumed ; then could come a final understanding, 
peace, election of deputies, and the future of the island amicably settled. 
All these steps must be taken successively 5 they cannot be precipitated 
without unduly exciting the public mind. In this view, the matter of 
the gunboats is a great embarrassment. If the embargo should still 
remain at the opening of the chambers, it will be difficult to persuade 
the Cortes or the people that the government of the United States is not 
hostile to Spain. They will say the United States have two weights 
and measures ; they allow the Peruvian monitors to go — they retain the 
Spanish gunboats. The material assistance which the one or two gun- 
boats now ready would afford our fleet in Cuban waters would be very 
slight compared with the moral advantage which the release of them 
would give the government in the plan which it has marked out for the 
pacification of the island in accord with the United States. Mr. Silvela 
hoped I would make these views known to my government. 

I promised to communicate the views of his excellency, as I had 
formerly those of Mr. Becerra. I was still without instructions and 
without official information in regard to this matter. I was sure, how- 
ever, that it would appear that the action of my government had been 
based upon the same principles of strict neutrality that had actuated 
them in all other similar cases. Our neutrality laws are very stringent 
and always rigidly enforced; they have been put in action repeatedly 
H. Ex. Doc. 160 4 



50 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

for the benefit of Spain, and there could be no just cause for complaint 
if they were now executed apparently to her disadvantage. 

The same evening I addressed a note to the president of the council, 
whom I had not seen since his return to Madrid, on the 21st instant, 
asking him to name an hour when I might pay my respects. He desig- 
nated the following afternoon. In the mean time I received your tele- 
gram of the 23d, and, as you will observe, after making the inquiries 
necessary to answer your telegram of the 15th instant. I took occasion 
to express your views upon the topics referred to in the former, omitting, 
however, any allusion to the recognition of the insurgents as belliger- 
ents. That subject was not introduced by the president of the council. 
The interview was cordial and occupied more than an hour. 

General Prim began by referring to the animated and excited discus- 
sion which had taken place in the public journals during his absence, 
in reference to Cuban affairs, and expressed his gratification that a 
calmer temper was now beginning to assert itself. He thought there 
was a certain gain perceptible from this recent excitement. Six months 
ago the question could not be discussed in Spain ; now it is a general topic 
of discussion. At first there was but one side, now there are evidently 
two ; a decided sentiment in favor of the emancipation of Cuba is grow- 
ing up ; let the national honor be saved, and he thought there would be 
no serious difficulty in accomplishing the emancipation of the island. 
His news from the Captain General was very good ; he expected with 
the assistance of a few additional battalions to break the military power 
of the insurrection ; in the course of this autumn the government ex- 
pected to be able to begin the work of political reform. The one thing 
necessary is to bring about as soon as possible the cessation of hostilities. 

Referring to my former conversations with General Prim I asked 
whether, in his opinion, the elections to be held for deputies and the 
plebiscitum were indispensable conditions to the independence of the 
island; I enumerated the difficulties to be encountered in this proceed- 
ing, if the insurgents laid down their arms, and the volunteers main- 
tained their organizations, and asked what were the intentions of the 
government in this respect. 

The general answered that the election of delegates to the Cortes 
was an absolutely indispensable preliminary; that there was no other 
possible method of accomplishing this object without a violation of the 
constitution; that the Americans, with their traditional regard for 
constitutional law, would be the last to' expect this. In answer to my 
question about the volunteers, he said that their disarmament would 
take place simultaneously with the cessation of hostilities; he had 
already taken his measures, and given orders to the Captain General for 
that purpose, and there would be no difficulty or delay about the matter. 
The government did not propose to have a repetition of the scenes 
which took place in the time of General Dulce. I expressed my grati- 
fication at this information, and hoped that the government had also 
taken measures to prevent those barbarous and cruel executions that 
had hitherto marked the progress of the war. This was one of the 
causes that most embarrassed the government of the United States, as 
the sufferers in these outrages were not only the Cuban insurgents, but 
also Americans, and in many instances persons entirely innocent of any 
participation in the insurrection. 

General Prim stated that he had given very severe and positive orders 
on that subject to the Captain General that these scandalous scenes 
should be prevented at all hazards, and that General De Rodas had 
answered avowing his intention of putting a stop to such occurrences, 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 51 

and of resorting to the punishment of death, if necessary, to accom- 
plish this. 

I said I would beg to commend to the consideration of the Spanish 
government the propriety of adopting the system of cartel, and treat- 
ment of prisoners according to the rules of ordinary warfare; that this 
would at once divest the war of its savage character, and make more 
practicable the projects of pacification which the government enter- 
tained. 

General Prim said that it was necessary to proceed gradually and 
surely. The government was now occupied with various decrees, car- 
rying its liberal policy into effect in Cuba. A decree would soon be 
issued initiating the gradual abolition of slavery, by giving freedom to 
all negroes born after date. The government would also soon announce 
a plan of administrative and municipal reform for Cuba. All this with- 
out waiting for the termination of the war. 

General Prim then referred to the question of the Spanish gunboats 
in New York, repeating the considerations already advanced by MM. 
Silvela and Becerra. 

I rejoined that I had already communicated to my government the 
point of view of the Spanish cabinet; that the action of the United 
States was founded on the demand of the Peruvian government ; that a 
state of war existed between that nation and Spain; that the United 
States were bound to take cognizance of this, not only as a neutral 
nation, but still more as a mediator between the two parties, accepted 
as such by both ; that the Peruvians claimed that these gunboats might 
be used either to prey upon their commerce or to relieve the Spanish 
fleet in the Gulf, and enable it to attack them ; that the neutrality laws 
of the United States are so strict, and their execution so rigid, that even 
if the government of the United States had taken no action in the 
matter, the vessels might have been stopped by judicial proceedings on 
competent information from any source. I added that these incidents 
furnished but another reason for putting an end as soon as possible, 
either by peace with Peru, or an armistice in Cuba, to such causes of 
annoyance. 

General Prim said he did not consider the claim of Peru serious; the 
war with that power w T as virtually ended; it was an absurd and 
foolish war, left by the late government of Spain, and which the present 
government was determined to close at once. '• Not another shot will 
be fired in it, and that the Peruvians know as well as we. We cannot 
be induced to recommence that war." 

I declined to discuss the validity of the claim of Peru; the action of 
my government was founded on the requirements of our neutrality 
laws, and with reference to strict and impartial justice between the two 
antagonists. 

I then said that I had communicated to my government the views of 
the Spanish cabinet, as expressed in the conversations of Mr. Silvela 
and Mr. Becerra, and the note of the latter in reference to the offer of 
the friendly intervention of the United States, made in my note of the 
3d September; that this offer was made in a spirit of friendship, and in 
the interests of humanity, of Spain, of Cuba, and of the United States. 
If the tender be not acceptable to Spain, I was authorized to withdraw 
it; but that I was reluctant to do this wirile there seemed any possi- 
bility that our services could be made available for the purpose in view. 
I therefore asked General Prim whether he had any modifications to 
propose which would make the bases I had submitted acceptable to the 
government of Spain. 



52 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

General Prim replied that while recognizing the good faith and friend- 
ship with which this offer was made, he must say that at this moment it 
embarrassed the Spanish government. "We can better proceed, in the 
present situation of things, without even this friendly intervention. A 
time will come when the good offices of the United States will be not 
only useful but indispensable in the final arrangements between Spain 
and Cuba. We will ascertain the form in which they can be employed, 
and confidently count upon your assistance." 

1 then said I woidd withdraw the bases proposed by my government,- 
and while both nations would reserve their full liberty of action, the 
good offices of the United States would be ready whenever they could 
tend to a settlement, upon a just and honorable basis, of the unhappy 
contest that is devastating Cuba, and so injuriously affecting the United 
States and Spain. 

I shall reserve for another dispatch the observations suggested by the 
present situation here in its relation to the Cuban question. Reinforce- 
ments are not sent off as fast or as largely as was announced to be the pur- 
pose of the government. Not more than three thousand have sailed, and 
these, for the most part, recruits. There are manifest indications of a 
formidable republican movement, and to meet this the government will 
require all the forces at its disposal. The resources of the government 
are so far exhausted, and its credit so low, that it is now using the re- 
serves appropriated to the payment of the interest on the public debt 
due in December, and must soon suspend specie payments altogether. 
In a word, the political and financial difficulties of the situation are so 
critical that a change in the policy of this cabinet with regard to the 
question of Cuba may be looked for at any moment. 



No. 33. 

General SicMes to Mr. Fish. 

No. 23.J Madrid, September 29, 1869. 

I have the hono* to transmit herewith copies of three telegraphic dis- 
patches sent by this legation to the Department of State on the 23d, 
24th, and 25th days of September instant. 



General SicMes to Mr. Fish. 
* [Telegram.] 

Madrid, Septemler 23, 1869. 

Resume" of interview to-day with minister of foreign affairs at his request. Minister 
of colonies present. 

Spain embarrassed by our proposed mediation. Hoped our offer would he withdrawn 
or modified. Spain would proceed in accord with the United States to settle Cuban 
question by the successive steps this cabinet bad heretofore indicated, including armis- 
tice. Detention of gunboats retarded progress, and would prejudice Cortes and public 
opinion against accepting good offices of United States. They expressed wish for reply 
hefore Cortes meet, October first. 

Have asked interview with president of council. Serious disturbances anticipated 
here. Opposition parties anxious to send troops to Cuba. Government holds back ; 
fears republican demonstrations ; wants money ; taxes unpaid. 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 53 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 
[Telegram.] 

Madrid, September 24, 1869. 
Your telegram of 23d received. In the exercise of the discretion given in your in- 
structions, number three, and for prudential reasons that will be reported in my next 
dispatch, the offer of mediation was communicated first verbally and afterward by note. 
Nothing has occurred to disturb niy friendly relations with the Spanish cabinet. They 
object only to our mediation in a domestic question. 



General SicTcles to Mr. Fish. 

[Telegram. J 

Madrld, September 25, 1869. 

Eesume" of interview last evening with president of council. 

Plebiscitum not insisted upon. Election of deputies required by constitution ; in- 
dispensible preliminary to independence. Measures already taken to disarm volunteers 
simultaneously with cessation of hostilities. Severe and positive orders given to stop 
the scandalous execution of captives and like cruelties. General de Eodas promises to 
do so at all hazards. 

A decree will be promulgated forthwith for the gradual abolition of slavery. Gov • 
ernment will proceed with liberal reforms without waiting for termination of war. 

Spain recognizes the good faith and friendship of our offer of mediation. Neverthe- 
less, it is a serious embarrassment. Spain, at present, can proceed better without in- 
tervention. It is necessary to wait till a more practicable temper prevails. It would 
not be long before our co-operation would be not only useful, but indispensible in the 
settlement of the question. He would then indicate the form in which Spain could 
avail herself of our friendly intervention. The recent excitement had advanced the 
growing sentiment favoring Cuban independence. The national honor saved, no serious 
obstacle prevented the emancipation of the island. 

The Spanish cabinet distinguish between mediation and good offices. To prevent 
recognition of belligerents, they seem anxious to hold us to our offer of good offices, 
while declining mediation as long as there is hope of suppressing insurrection. 



1 No. 34. 

Mr. Fish to General SicMes. 
No. 10.] Washington, October 12, 1869. 

Your dispatches to No. 22 were received this morning. Immediately 
on receipt of them I sent to you, in cypher, the inclosed telegram, think- 
ing that you would desire, when opportunity should offer, to correct the 
misapprehension under which the Spanish cabinet were evidently labor- 
ing, as to the action of the United States in the detention of the Span- 
ish gunboats. In support of the statements in my telegram, I inclose 
also a translation of the note of Mr. Goni, dated the 23d May, 1868, re- 
questing the detention of the monitors, and also a translation of his 
note of the 24th of November, consenting to their release. 

I need not state to you, who are familiar with the laws of the United 
States, and with the faithful manner in which we perform our inter- 
national obligations, that the President had no option on the receipt of 
such a note as the first note of Mr. Goiii in regard to the detention of 
the vessels, and that after the receipt of his second note on the same 
subject it was manifestly his duty to let the vessels go. 

I also inclose a translation of the note of Mr. Freyre, the Peruvian 
minister, requesting the detention of the gunboats which Spain is con- 
structing in New York. And inasmuch as, since the Peruvian monitors 
were first detained at New Orleans, at the request of Mr. Goni, there 



54 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

has been no change in the relations between Spain and Peru, (though 
the President hopes those relations may be soon changed into those of 
permanent peace, through the good offices of the United States,) the 
President could only act towards Spain, at the request of Peru, as he had 
acted towards Peru, at the request of Spain. Independently of his duty 
as a neutral, the laws of the United States left him no option, nor did 
they even permit him to inquire into the question which appears to have 
been raised at Madrid, whether the gunboats were to be used against 
Peru. Your answer, however, to that question, that they would release 
in the Antilles vessels which might be employed against Peru, is con- 
sistent with the facts as represented to this department by the minister 
from Peru. If you have not already done so, it will be well to bring 
these facts informally to the notice of the Spanish cabinet when oppor- 
tunity offers. 

The necessity of preparing this note for the mail which leaves to-day 
forbids me to enter more at length upon the several subjects treated in 
your dispatches. 



Mr. Goni to Mr. Seward. 
[Translation.] 

Legation of Spain at "Washington, 

Washington, May 23, 1868. 

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of her Catholic 
Majesty, has the honor to present to the consideration of the honorable Secretary of 
State what follows : 

It is already a notorious fact, as published by the daily press in the United States, as 
well as in that of Peru, and neither contradicted nor der.ied, nor called in question by 
any one, that the armor-clad ships Catawba and Oneota, bought by Messrs. Swift & 
Co.; of Cincinnati, have been purchased for the government of Peru, to which they at 
this time belong, and that they are preparing for departure, more or less early, bound 
for that republic from the port of New Orleans, where they now actually are. This 
being understood, the undersigned, repeating the verbal reclamations which he has at 
various conferences made upon the subject, now addresses himself to the honorable 
Secretary of State, invoking his recognized uprightness, his loyalty toward friendly 
nations, and the noble perseverance with which he has upheld respect for the laws of 
neutrality, to the end that he may hinder the departure to sea of the monitors Catawba 
and Oneota, while the state of war exists between Spain and Peru. 

The undersigned, on the present occasion, thinks he may hope for the most efficient 
action from the honorable Secretary of State, for most especial and extraordinary 
reasons. First, if the state of war still subsists, it is not by fault of the Spanish gov- 
ernment, which has shown dispositions propitious to the adjustment of a peace worthy 
and honorable for all parties, having always met the friendly invitations given by the 
Hon. Mr. Seward, and in consequence suspending active hostilities. Secondly, that the 
government of her Catholic Majesty having now presented the question of peace in a 
positive manner to the honorable Secretary of State, it ought to trust, and does trust, 
that while Peru and the allied republics do not proffer themselves to enter upon the 
negotiations proposed, the government of the United States will. not consent that in 
this country any detriment shall occur to the rights of Spain in derogation of the laws 
of neutrality. 

The undersigned avails of this occasion to reiterate to the honorable Secretary of 
State the assurance of his highest consideration. 

FACUNDO GONI. 

Hon. William H. Sewaed, <£-c, $-c, cfc. 



Mr. Goni to Mr. Seward. 
[Translation.] 

Legation of Spain in Washington, 

Washington, November 24, 1868. 
At one of the latest cenferences in relation to the monitors Catawba and Oneota, 
purchased for the government of Peru, the honorable Secretary of State of the United 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 55 

Kti+es after asrain presenting some observations expressed in Ms note of the 9th of 
jS^ffingtotjJTCitterTwaB pleased to make manifest to the undersigned that 
the Spanish government could, without obstacle of any kind, consent to the departure 
of those vessels in consideration of two special circumstances, to wit : 

1st. That complete peace existing in fact between Spam and Peru, and this peace m 
fact beino- very shortly to be converted into peace according to law, as recent commu- 
nications received at the Department of State demonstrate, and especially the protocol 
of the conference which on the first day of September last was observed m Lima by 
the representatives of the four allied republics, in view of so near and .probable an 
event, the acquiescence of the Spanish government would be justifiable in respect ot 
the immediate departure of the monitors, which need to avail themselves of the fair 
weather of the southern hemisphere, and would moreover signify a deference very 
remarkable and worthy of esteem. . 

2d That this government having assurance that the monitors are not to exercise any 
hostilities against Spain, not only because of the disposition which animates the gov- 
ernment of Peru, but also because the minister of that republic has made so solemn 
promise thereof, as the honorable Secretary of State has been pleased to assure the 
undersigned in the said note of the 9th July, that Spain cannot entertain, m this re- 
spect, the least reason for withdrawal or apprehension. , 0i , +1 , 

In consequence of the precedent manifestation of the Secretary of State, the under- 
signed finds himself fully authorized to declare that the present government ot bpain, 
desirous, as the representative of the new political situation created in that country, 
to give proof of its friendly attitude towards the Hispano-Amencan republics ot the 
Pacific, ceases to oppose the departure to sea of the monitors Catawba and Oneota, 
hopino- only that the honorable Secretary of State will please to assure him, m con- 
formitV with the offers made by the minister of Peru, that the said vessels will not 
attempt to commit any act offensive to Spanish interests during their voyage to the 
"Pacific 

The undersigned has the honor to communicate the foregoing to the honorable Secre- 
tary of State of the United States, and awaiting reply to the present note, avails ot 
this fresh occasion to reiterate the assurance of his highest consideration. 

FACUNDO GONI. 

Hon. William H. Seward, $c, <fc, $c. 



Mr. Freyre to Mr. Fish. 
[Translation.] 

Legation of Peru, 

New York, July 31, 1869. 
The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Peru, has the 
honor to inform the honorable Secretary of State of the United States, that it is well 
known not only through the newspapers, but from other sources, the authenticity of 
which cannot be doubted, that the Spanish government has ordered the building of 
thirty steam gunboats, equipped for war, to be effected in this country ; their agents 
have contracted for fifteen in the ship-yards of Mystic Eiver, Connecticut ; for ten m 
Poillon's yards, in Brooklyn, four of which have already been launched, and are receiv- 
in o- their engines from the foundery of Delamater, in Thirteenth street, North Eiver ; and 
five are being built in one of the" yards at Greenpoint. It is announced that they will 
soon leave, to reinforce the naval squadron now stationed round the Island of Cuba. 

The undersigned will not ask the destination of these gunboats ; it is enough to 
know that they are armed vessels of war, belonging to the government of Spam, to 
justify him, as the representative of a republic at war with that nation, in protesting 
against the departure of these vessels, and in requesting the ever just government of 
North America, as a neutral exercising the right imposed by the law of nations, to 
order the detention of the thirty gunboats mentioned, and not allow them to leave the 
places where they now are, under any pretext whatever. 

The undersigned insists on prompt attention to this business, as one of the vessels 
will be ready in ten or twelve davs, and the others will be finished soon. 

In fine, the undersigned, in giving this information to the honorable Secretary of 
State, hopes a flagrant violation of the laws of neutrality may be prevented on Ameri- 
can soil, against the republic of Peru; for with these additional vessels, Spam may use 
all her other naval forces against the republics on the Pacific coast, in case hostilities 
be renewed. 

With these remarks, the undersigned has the honor to offer to the honorable Secretary 
of State of the United States the expression of his most distinguished consideration. 

MAN'L FEEYEE. 

Hon. Hamilton Fish, 

Secretary of State, fyc, fyc, tfc. 



56 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

No. 35. 

General Sicldes to Mr. Fisli. 

No. 26.J October 16, 18G9. 

I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of nay note addressed to 
the minister of state, Mr. Silvela, on the 28th nltinio, and a copy and 
translation of his reply, dated the 16th instant. 



General Sickles to Mr. Silvela. 

September 28, 1869. 

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United 
States of America, had the honor, on the 31st of July last, in compliance with the in- 
structions of his government, to offer to the government of Spain the good offices of 
the United States, in the measures that should be found most expedient for the pacifi- 
cation of the Island of Cuba. 

His excellency the minister of state, in a subsequent conference, communicated to 
the undersigned the reply of the cabinet of Madrid to the overture ; aud the under- 
signed, having duly transmitted the same to his government, informed the minister of 
state, on the 3d of September instant, of the views of the President in regard to the 
bases suggested on the part of Spain in that conference ; and at the same time the un- 
dersigned communicated to the cabinet of Madrid the bases proposed by the United 
States for the adjustment of the questions pending between Spain and Cuba. These 
propositions were deemed by the President to be most advantageous to all the inter- 
ests compromised by the deplorable conflict in the Island of Cuba, and it was believed 
the arrangement would be accej>table to the government of Spain. 

His excellency the minister of state, acknowledging for the cabinet of Madrid the 
sincerity and friendship of the offer made by the United States, has intimated to the 
undersigned that the bases proposed by the United States cannot be accepted by Spain, 
and that even the friendly intervention of another power would embarrass the Span- 
ish government in proceeding with the liberal measures it proposes to initiate, to meet 
the requirements of* the situation in the Antilles. 

The undersigned, therefore, in conformity with his instructions, withdraws the offer 
of the good offices of the President of the United States, heretofore communicated to 
the government of his Highness the Regent; and, while both nations will reserve their 
full liberty of action, if the occasion shall hereafter arise when the United States may 
contribute by their friendly co-operation to the settlement of the questions at issue in 
Cuba, the undersigned is instructed to state that the President will be happy to assist 
in promoting a result so conducive to the interests of Spain and of America. 



Mr. Silvela to General Sickles. 
[Translation.] 

October 8, 1869. 

I have received your excellency's polite note of the 28th of last month, to which mat- 
ters of the gravest importance have prevented an earlier reply. 

In this note, in accordance with the instructions of the government of the United 
States, your excellency withdraws the offer of good offices with the insurgents of Cuba, 
with which that government was pleased to favor us, in the desire to put an end to the 
civil war Avhich afflicts that transatlantic province. The Spanish government had ac- 
cepted with gratitude these humanitary good offices. What it did not accept, because 
it could not accept them, were all the bases upon which they were founded, bases which 
evidently, as it now appears, constituted the essential condition of the offer. The 
Spanish government could not accept these bases, the first of which was the independ- 
ence of Cuba, because, even if they had wished it, it was not within their competence 
to consent to a dismemberment of the territory of this monarchy, without the permis- 
sion and authorization of the Cortes ; but the Cortes, far from permitting and authorizing 
this, manifested by a unanimous resolution of their permanent commission that they 
were ready to lend their entire support to the government, in an elevated and dignified 
policy in the Cuban question, calculated to preserve the integrity of the territory and 
the national honor, and were disposed to convoke the national representation to 
strengthen the action of the government. 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 57 

The Spanish government, nevertheless, as I have already said, had accepted the good 
offices, hoping that in the first place, they would be exercised by the government of 
the United States using their influence with the promoters of the insurrection, who 
had sought refuge in the territory of the republic, to induce the insurgents to lay 
down their arms. The Spanish government proposed spontaneously to present to the 
Constituent Cortes for their deliberation, in accord with the deputies of the island, 
measures which should tend to give to the Cubans the liberties their condition may 
require, in harmony with those proclaimed in Spain— a complete amnesty for those who 
have fought against the mother country, the gradual emancipation of the slaves, and 
the right of the free to hold public offices, and to share in making the laws. The 
humanitary good offices were accepted with gratitude upon these bases. If the United 
States now withdraw them, it is apparently because they consider as an inflexible basis 
of any negotiation the declaration of independence, to which neither the respect which 
the government professes to the constitution of Spain, nor other considerations not less 
important, permit us to accede. But as, the offer of good offices being withdrawn, the 
Spanish government can do no less than consider the bases and conclusions on which they 
were founded as having passed out of view, this is sufficient to cause the Spanish 
government to recognize the fairness of the government of the United States, and the 
respect which is due to the sovereignty of a people which has been its friend and ally 
from the beginning of its glorious history. 

Your excellency, moreover, observes in ending your note, that while the President of 
the republic reserves his liberty of action, he will be happy if he can contribute in any- 
thing to the pacification of Cuba, a result equally advantageous to the interests of 
America and of Spain. 

This frank and noble declaration is extremely satisfactory, and I beg that your ex- 
cellency will present to the President the thanks of the Spanish government. At the 
same time I venture to indicate two acts which it is in his power to accomplish, and 
which will serve as an illustration of these loyal and friendly purposes toward Spain. 

The first is, to exercise all his natural influence upon those who, having taken 
refuge in American territory, foment the rebellion, to the end that they, following the 
generous initiative of the Spanish government, contained in the Gazette of the 28th of 
September, may induce their followers to abstain from giving a savage character to 
the conflict with the outrages and ferocious crimes with which they have been hitherto 
stained. The Spanish government having manifested its purpose to confine the con- 
test within the limits prescribed by modern civilization, orders having been given to 
the authorities to proceed with all the moderation required by humanity, it would be 
truly monstrous if the insurgents should continue the barbarous conflict which they 
have begun, and should keep on perpetrating the excesses which outrage the con- 
sciences of honorable men, rendering themselves wholly unworthy of the generous 
hospitality which the republic dispenses to those who, under the name of the Cuban 
Junta, stand forth as promoters of the insurrection. The Spanish government having 
spontaneously set this example, and being resolved to act in a civilizing and human- 
itarian sense, a wide field is opened to the United States to show their sympathies and 
their good- will toward a government and a nation which proceeds in this manner, not- 
withstanding the conduct of the rebels. 

The second act, which may illustrate the sincerity of the President's offers, is in re- 
gard to the gunboats constructed in the United States by the order and at the expense 
of Spain, not to go against Peru, nor even to fight the insurgents of Cuba, but to defend 
our coasts against the aggressions of filibusters and pirates. 

The strongest argument which your excellency has used on various occasions to 
endeavor to demonstrate the importance of the insurrection, has been the extent of its 
duration ; but this argument will have no weight while the insurrection receives con- 
tinual increase and nutriment from abroad ; while it does not remain isolated and with- 
out other partisans and champions than the Cubans themselves. Only when the insur- 
rection persists m this manner can it be urged that it is rooted in the country, that the 
majority of the Cubans desire to be independent, and even that they are worthy to be 
so, and are possessed of sufficient means, vigor, and energy to form a nationality and 
a separate state. At this time, in the present state of things on that island, Spain can- 
not believe nor admit that the majority of the Cubans incline to separation from the 
mother country, but that a turbulent and blind minority, excited and aided by adven- 
turers and speculators of other countries, by filibusters and pirates, guided by evil 
passions and not by patriotic purposes, aspire to overcome the general will of their 
own countrymen, and that is the sole cause of the discord which we deplore. At this 
time Spain does not and cannot see in Cuba the profound sentiment and true capacity 
of independence, and therefore, if she should consent to a separation from that rich and 
ancient colony, she would not have the great consolation of thinking that she was 
giving existence to a new nation, but the deep remorse of weakly abandoning her own 
children ; of leaving unprotected a people of her own language and race to miserably 
perish and disappear. 

These reasons are sufficiently strong to be esteemed at their just value by a govern- 



58 STEUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

rneut so enlightened as that which your excellency here worthily represents, and in 
whose friendly co-operation Spain still trusts to give peace to Cuba, and with peace, 
those ample liberties which our constitution grants to every Spanish citizen of either 
hemisphere. 



No. 36. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

No. 27.] Madrid, October 16, 1869. 

With this dispatch you will receive a copy of my note of the 28th 
ultimo to the minister of state, withdrawing the offer of the good offices 
of the President, heretofore tendered to Spain, for the settlement of the 
Cuban question ; also, a copy of Mr. Sil vela's reply, dated on the 8th 
instant, and received to-day. [See General Sickles's No. 26, page 56.] 

An early answer was promised by the minister; and having already 
informed you of my action, in my telegram of the 29th ultimo, I waited 
for the reply of the Spanish government before transmitting a copy of 
my note. 

A reply was sent to me on the 9th instant, identical with the one 
inclosed, except that it contained the extraordinary statement that I had 
withdrawn my note of the 3d of September. I called upon Mr. Silvela 
immediately, and informed him that this assertion was inadmissible, and 
if persisted in would compel me to put on record a positive contradiction 
of a statement which had no color of foundation in fact. He explained 
his meaning to be that the withdrawal of the offer of good offices was, 
in his opinion, synonymous with the withdrawal of the bases of settle- 
ment proposed by the United States, and he had given to this inference 
the form of assertion expressed in his note. 

I assured the minister that, in attributing to me any purpose of with- 
drawing my note of the 3d ultimo, he had altogether misapprehended 
the tenor of my communication of the 28th; that the objections were 
insuperable to a proceeding which would mutilate the record of an 
important transaction, in which the President had performed a public 
duty imposed upon him by grave events; that the withdrawal of our 
good offices rendered unnecessary the further discussion of the bases 
proposed ; that my communication of the 3d ultimo was not, however, 
confined to the suggestion of these bases; it embraced also a statement 
of the reasons which constrained the President to regard the bases pro- 
posed by Spain as inconsistent with any practicable negotiation; it 
included besides an exposition of the motives which had prompted the 
offer of the good offices of the United States, and it presented, more- 
over, the general considerations deemed by the President to be essential 
in determining the means for the pacification of Cuba. 

The minister, although inclined to extend the range of the discussion 
by arguments in support of the soundness of his deduction, did not 
insist upon the correctness of his statment. He asked me to send him 
an informal note, pointing out the matter to which I objected, and prom- 
ised to give immediate attention to the subject. I wrote him unofficially 
the same evening; and on the 12th, Mr. Diaz del Moral, of the state 
department, called upon me and submitted the draught of a proposed 
amendment, which I rejected, as it was a repetition in other phraseology 
of the original misstatement. Yesterday Mr. Diaz called again, and 
proposed a modification of the paragraph, omitting altogether the state- 
ment that my note had been withdrawn, which removed any objection 



STEUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 59 

to the reception of the reply of the minister. To-day the original of the 
accompanying copy was received at the legation, and the one first sent 
was returned to the Foreign Office. 

I have thought proper to inform you of all these particulars, because 
it has been repeatedly stated in semi-official journals and in official cir- 
cles in Madrid, with the apparent sanction of this cabinet, that my note 
of the 3d of September had been withdrawn, in compliance with the 
demand of the Spanish government, and this misrepresentation has been 
telegraphed all over Europe and the United States. 

I inclose also with dispatch No. 26, a copy of the instructions sent to the 
Captain General to prevent in future the atrocities which have disgraced 
the war in Cuba; also, the decree establishing freedom of worship m the 
Antilles, to which reference is made in the reply of the minister ot state. 
[For inclosures see Mr. Plumb's dispatch of October 26, page 156 J 

The republican demonstration has recently occupied the attention ot 
this government to the exclusion of all other matters. 

# # # * * * * 

There is no doubt, however, that recent events have made the presi- 
dent of the council stronger than he has yet been, at least in authority, 
if not in popularity, and that his views will more than ever shape the 
policy of Spain. 

No. 37. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 
■$ 3i i Madrid, November 3, 1869. 

Two changes in the cabinet are announced. Mr. Martos replaces Mr. 
Silvela in the state department, and Mr. Figuerola, who had before 
occupied the post, succeeds Mr. Ardanaz in the treasury. Additional 
gravity is given to the ministerial crisis by the resignation of Admiral 
Topete. It has not been accepted, as appears by a decree of the Eegent 
published in the Gazette of this morning, because the reasons assigned 
for the resignation are altogether personal. It is not believed, however, 
that the admiral will resume his portfolio, as the real differences be- 
tween the president of the council and the minister of marine are well 
understood to be political. The retiring ministers belong to the "liberal 
union " party, of which the Eegent became the chief on the death ot 
O'Donnell. Their successors are taken from the ranks of the " radicals, 
a new name adopted since the recent fusion of the " progresistas" and 
" democratic monarchists," under the leadership of the president of the 
council. It is understood that the " union liberals" declined to accept 
office in the reorganization of the cabinet, and it is claimed that the new 
administration is homogeneous in its politics. Besides the dissensions 
growing out of the candidature of the Duke of Genoa, who is not sup- 
ported by the " union liberals," it is probable that other differences, 
as, for example, the relations of the government to the church, contrib- 
uted to the rupture. It remains to be seen whether the new cabinet will 
command the same support in the Cortes enjoyed by the late adminis- 
tration, for although all sides profess to regard the preservation of the 
coalition as essential, there are serious doubts of its practicability. The 
loss of the union liberal vote in the Cortes, which is somewhere be- 
tween sixty and seventy, would still leave the radical cabinet a majority 
in the chamber; but the weight of character, and especially the powerful 
influence in the army attributed to the Eegent's party, will greatly in- 
crease the strength of the opposition to General Prim's administration, 



60 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

if he fails to conciliate this important element of the coalition that has 
hitherto sustained him. 

###### 

The commission organized to prepare and report for the consideration 
of the Cortes a plan of administrative reform for the island of Porto Eico, 
of which I advised you in my dispatch No. 19, has been dissolved. The 
Marquis de la Esperanza, one of the deputies of Porto Eico, and a mem- 
ber of the board, informed the secretary of this legation, Colonel Hay, 
that the commission was unable to agree upon any plan. The disagree- 
ment between the government and the provincial members included among 
others the questions of slavery, tariff, and taxation. The decree dis- 
solving the commission, which appeared recently in the Gazette, assigns 
as the reason for the measure, that the time limited for the sittings of 
the board has expired. I shall inform you of whatever else may trans- 
pire on this subject. It is probable the matter will soon be brought up 
in the Cortes by the deputies from Porto Eico. 

No allusion has been made to the matter of the gunboats since the 
receipt of your telegram and instructions upon that subject. I have 
preferred to wait for such an opportunity to correct the misapprehension 
you mention, rather than introduce the subject myself. 

* w W -«r ^ W 

Although the Cortes have been in session for a month, tbe Cuban 
question has not been considered, nor even mentioned, otherwise than 
incidentally, in the public sittings. With every mail from the Havana the 
announcement is repeated that the insurrection is suppressed, yet the 
embarkation of reinforcements continues. The consul at Cadiz reports 
the departure of 1,428 troops since the middle of October. Of these, 
three hundred were marines, taken by the ship of war Zaragoza. The 
remainder were sent by the transports Porto Eico and Lopez de la Ca- 
Lopez. 



No. 38. 
General SicMes to Mr. Fish. 

No. 33.] Madrid, November 14, 1869. 

The subject of Porto Eico was brought before the Cortes yesterday by 
one of the deputies of the island, Mr. Padial. 

I inclose herewith a report of the debate, taken from the official Ga- 
zette. You will find in the speech of the colonial secretary, Mr. Becerra, 
an exposition of the principles adopted by this government, in shaping 
their plans of colonial administration. The deputies from Porto Eico 
differ widely in their demands, and it is evident the government will 
take advantage of these dissensions and do as little as possible in the 
way of reform. 

The colonial minister declared on the 8th instant, in the Cortes, that 
the government would not bring forward any measure of reform for 
Cuba until the last hostile band was dispersed, and the insurgents had 
lost all hope. You will perhaps find some interest in a comparison of 
that view of Mr. Becerra with his expressions on the 6th of October, and 
I inclose reports of his remarks on both of these occasions. 

[For inclosures see extiact of above dispatch, document No. 115, page 
161.1 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 61 

No. 39. 

General Siclcles to Mr. Fish. 

No. 34.] Madrid, November 17, 1869. 

Last week, while in the diplomatic tribune of the Cortes, I received 
a ceremonious visit from the president of the chamber. Sefior Eivero 
took occasion to assure me of the great interest he felt in the continu- 
ance of good relations between the United States and Spain, and of his 
earnest desire to assist in promoting whatever might tend to strengthen 
the ties between the two countries. He concluded by asking me to 
meet the secretaries of state and of the colonies at dinner at his house. 
This interview was reported in the journals of the same evening and on 
the following day. The dinner took place on Sunday last, and has' like- 
wise been chronicled in all the ministerial organs. 

The secretaries of state and of the colonies, the late secretary of 
state, Mr. Silvela, the present and late under-secretaries of these depart- 
ments, and several deputies, were among the guests invited to meet me. 
The secretary of this legation, Colonel Hay, was the only other member 
of the diplomatic corps present. I would not feel authorized to report 
the conversation that followed if Mr. Martos, Mr. Becerra, and Mr. 
Eivero had not distinctly stated that they wished me to regard all they 
said as the frank and unreserved expression of their official as well as 
of their personal sentiments, which they hoped I would communicate to 
my government. Mr. Martos spoke of the common interests shared by 
the United States and Spain in Cuba. He said that whatever retarded 
the prosperity of the island was injurious alike to both countries ; that 
the welfare of Cuba was of more commercial importance to the United 
States than to the mother country; that Spain, having adopted the 
most democratic constitution in Europe, was more than ever disposed 
to enter into intimate relations with the United States; that the gov- 
ernment intended in good faith to extend to Cuba the same free institu- 
tions enjoyed by Spain, including the right to elect not only their depu- 
ties, but also their municipal and provincial councils. 

Mr. Becerra remarked that the Cubans were better prepared for free 
institutions than the average population of Spain ; that he had been 
urged to order the immediate election of Cuban deputies to the Cortes, 
but he had refused to do so, for the reason that now an election would 
only represent the views of the peninsular party, whereas the govern- 
ment desired a full expression of the opinions of the whole population. 

I asked what objection could be made to the immediate consideration 
of the Cuban question by the Cortes; that the Cubans, unfortunately, 
had no hope of any change for the better while they remained a colony 
of Spain ; they did not believe, if they gave up the contest, that Spain 
would do anything to lighten their burdens or improve their political 
condition ; that one mode of removing these impressions would be for 
the Cortes to settle at once the form of the future government of the 
island. 

To this Mr. Martos replied that the council of ministers were occupied 
with the subject, and that he had advocated, and would continue to ad- 
vocate, both as a minister and a deputy, the extension of the largest 
liberties to Cuba ; that the government could not, however, ignore the 
fact that the colony was in rebellion, and nothing could be conceded to 
force ; that the well-known opinions of the cabinet were a guarantee 
that in legislating for Cuba, they would adhere to the principles of the 
constitution they had assisted to frame. This would be seen in the 



62 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

forthcoming ministerial measures of colonial reform in Porto Bico, 
■which would be presented to the Cortes next week. 

I mentioned that the United States had abolished slavery during the 
war of the rebellion ; that Congress and the President, while the war 
was pending, had, by various acts of legislation and by proclamations, 
adopted measures indicating the purposes and future policy of the gov- 
ernment in reference to the rebel States ; that in this it was not believed 
there was anything inconsistent with the dignity and self-respect of the 
nation. And that if Spain would now, by a timely measure, adopted by 
the Cortes, make known the plan of government for Cuba, I had no 
doubt that if the measures were such as ought to satisfy the legitimate 
aspirations of the people, it would do more to put an end to hostilities 
than all the reinforcements they had sent. 

Mr. Becerra replied the rebellion would very soon be at an end j 
that the force now in Cuba was really larger than was necessary to 
overcome the insurgents ; that at least forty thousand regular troops 
were in Cuba, and that the real object of further reinforcements was to 
maintain order when it should become necessary, on the termination of 
hostilities, to disband the volunteers and afford protection to the lives 
and property of the Cubans. 

Mr. Martos added that he was most anxious the President should 
be convinced of the determination of this government to act with 
the utmost liberality in all that related to the interests of Cuba; 
that in this they hoped to have always the good will and friendship of 
the United States. 

Expressing my profound regret to see the armies of free Spain in 
conflict with their natural allies, who were contending for self-govern- 
ment in Cuba, I added that although my government had done all that 
a friendly power could do to put an end to the struggle, the President 
still desired, as sincerely as ever, that measures might be matured which 
would insure the speedy pacification and future prosperity of the island. 

Mr. Becerra, assuming that my intimation pointed to an armistice, re- 
plied that if, during the war of the rebellion in the United States, any 
mediator had proposed to the cabinet of President Lincoln an armistice 
with the rebels, with a view to negotiations, he was sure the offer 
would have been instantly rejected and the government would have 
said, "The insurgents must lay down their arms before we can listen to 
any propositions." He proceeded to repeat some of the arguments he 
had, on a former occasion, addressed to me officially on this subject, and 
added that now, when the republic of the United States bad become 
the giant the minister of Charles III had predicted, it could not forget 
the friendship of Spain in its infancy. 

Mr. Martos observed here, that as soon as the present government 
came into power they sent General Dulce to Cuba, with instructions to 
make the largest concessions to the Cubans. He granted them liberty 
of the press, and they used it to denounce the government of the revo- 
lution. He recognized their right to hold public meetings, and they 
employed it to despoil Spain of her territory. It then became plain that 
what the Cubans wanted was not liberty, for that was offered to them, 
but independence, and that Spain could not yield to force without dis- 
honor. 

The president of the Cortes, Mr. Bivero, here interposed, and referred 
to his record as a democrat, and as a constant supporter of the Union 
throughout the struggle with the South ; he wished to see the United 
States and Spain allies ; they had the best constitutions in the world ; 
they had principles and interests in common ; the Cuban question would 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 63 

be settled on the basis of self-government and commercial reciprocity 
as soon as the war ended, for then the Spanish government would be in 
a "condition to act and to treat, and in this happy result the United 
States might be all-powerful, first by their influence with the Cubans in 
advising them to confide in the good faith of the pledges of the govern- 
ment of the revolution to do justice to Cuba; secondly, by means of the 
good understanding between Spain and the United States which af- 
forded a sure basis for the exercise of their good offices. 

I said the great difficulty in the way was the distrust of the Cubans 
in any change in the colonial policy of Spain ; that upon this subject 
the constitution was silent, and all depended upon the pleasure of the 
Cortes. The Cubans seemed to have no hope for the future, except in 
independence. 

Mr. Becerra replied that already the government had given pledges 
of its sincerity, in the decree establishing freedom of worship; that he 
and his colleagues had publicly declared they would proceed with the 
gradual abolition of slavery, and that reserving for the home govern- 
ment the regulation of purely national concerns, the Cubans should have 
as much control over their local affairs as is enjoyed by any Spanish 
province under the constitution. 

In these views Mr. Martos and Mr. Eivero concurred, the former re- 
marking that he well knew the native Cubans, or " insulars," as he 
called them, were far more numerous than the "peninsulars," and that, 
as a consistent democrat, which he claimed to be, the wishes of the ma- 
jority should be respected in the determinations of any government in 
which he held office, whenever those wishes were legitimately made 
known by regularly chosen deputies from the island. 

In reply to some observations I made on. the injurious commercial 
restrictions to which the trade between Cuba and the United States was 
subjected, the excessive postal charges maintained by Spain, and the 
absence of any extradition treaty between the two countries, Mr. Martos 
assured me of his readiness to take up these questions at any time, 
and to deal with them in the manner best calculated to promote the in- 
terests ot both nations. Mr. Becerra at the same time remarked that 
he hoped I would myself bear in mind, and impress the fact also upon 
my government, that Spain was no longer controlled by the reactionary 
and antiquated ideas of the Bourbons, but by statesmen who appreciated 
and sustained the most advanced views of the epoch on all questions of 
colonial policy, trade, and international intercourse. "We do not," 
said he, " say these things in the shade, but in the light ; we have spoken 
frankly to the representative of a nation that w r e know deals openly 
with all, and assured of this, we have not hesitated to throw aside the 
reserve habitually maintained in ordinary diplomatic conversations." 
* # # * # # 



No. 40. 
General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

No. 37.J Madrid, December 3, 1869. 

I have the honor to inclose herewith the text of two cable telegrams 
sent from this legation on the 28th November and 2d December, 1869. 

The concluding paragraph of the latter dispatch was the only portion 
deemed necessary to be transmitted in cipher. 



64 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

[Telegram.] 

Madrid, November 28, 1869. 

Dispatch mentioned in private letter not received. Nothing new about that matter. 

Am authorized by minister of colonies to inform you that government measures for 
Porto Rico will include local self-government, free press, public schools, impartial suf- 
frage, gradual but speedy abolition of slavery, civil and political rights without distinc- 
tion of color, domiciled foreigners to vote for town officers after six months' residence, 
and for members of provincial council after one year. And that these reforms will in 
good faith be extended to Cuba, when hostilities cease and deputies are chosen in com- 
pliance with article one hundred and eight of Spanish constitution. 



General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

[Telegram.] 

Madrid, December 2, 1869. 

Interview with foreign secretary at his request. He said that Spain had yielded to 
the expressed wishes of the United States in withdrawing objection to the departure 
of the monitors on the assurances given by Peru. Aud he asks that the President will 
in like manner use his good offices with Peru, to the end that the objections to the de- 
parture of the gunboats may be withdrawn upon the same conditions. 

He wished me to assure you that Spain now desires the most friendly relations with 
all the American republics, and intends in her colonial policy to begin immediately the 
most liberal reforms. 

I presented the views contained in your instructions, and suggested the prompt resto- 
ration of peace with Peru as the best solution. 



No. 41. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

No. 38.] Madrid, December 5, 1869. 

In reply to the interpellation made the week before by Senor Eodrigo, 
the president of the council yesterday read to the Cortes a statement 
showing the forces and materiel of war sent to Cuba since the coninience- 
ment of the insurrection. I inclose herewith a translation of this inter- 
esting document, which appears in the Gaceta of this morning, together 

with the remarks of General Prim and Senor Eodrigo. 

^ # ^ ^fe' # # « 



[From the Gaceta, December 5, 1869.J 

The president of the council said : Last Saturday Senor Navarro y Rodrigo addressed 
certain inquiries to the minister of war which I could not answer immediately. I said, 
however, that there had gone to Cuba some thirty thousand men, and to-day I will read 
a statement of the land and sea forces, and of the material which has gone to Cuba since 
the revolution, because this proves the vitality and energy of the government and of 
all Spain exercised in the preservation of the Island of Cuba. 

The first forces which went there were 771 volunteers ; then 5,400 men of the regu- 
lar service ; afterward the series of battalions which were asked for by General Dulce, 
(may he rest in peace f) 1,000 went from Baza, 1,000 from Chiclana, 1,000 from San 
Quintin, and 1,000 from Simancas, who were so thoroughly equipped that they were 
able to take the field immediately on their arrival. Since that the successive depart- 
ures have reached a total of 20,966 of the army of the peninsula; of marines, 2,600; of 
recruits, 1,371; and of volunteers, 9,563; which gives a total of 34,500 men, according 
to the accompanying statement. I would call attention to the fact that this immense 
sum would represent a great effort for any nation whatever. 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 65 

Statement of the forces embarked for the Island of Cuba since the beginning of No- 
vember, 1868, when the intelligence of the insurrection arrived: 

Enlisted volunteers of the conscription funds 771 

Enlisted from the army 5, 411 

Battalion of the chasseurs of Baza, preserving their peninsular organization. . 1, 000 

Battalion of the cbasseurs of Chiclana.. 1,000 

Battalion of San Quintin 1,000 

Battalion of Simancas 1,000 

Sixth battalion of marines - - - 650 

Volunteers from the army 456 

Battalion chasseurs of Leon, with peninsular organization 1, 003 

Battalion chasseurs of Aragon, organized with regular troops 1, 002 

Battalion chasseurs of Andalusia, organized with regular troops 1, 000 

Battalion chasseurs of Antequera, organized as they were in the peninsula 1, 000 

From the regular army 651 

Battalion of Catalan volunteers, organized and equipped in Barcelona, and 

two companies of guides from Madrid 1, 206 

From different arms of the army 476 

Battalion chasseurs of Eeas, organized with regular troops 1, 000 

From different arms of the army 420 

From the Basque provinces 600 

Eecruits 280 

First battalion of third regiment marines 650 

From the army 1, 500 

Pizzaro chasseurs 1, 000 

Hernan Cortes chasseurs 1, 000 

From special arms of the service <• 500 

Eecruits 140 

Battalion of marines 650 

From the army 547 

Battalion of marines 650 

First battalion volunteers of Madrid 1,049 

Half second battalion volunteers of Madrid 506 

Battalion volunteers of Covadonga 1, 000 

Battalion volunteers of Cadiz 820 

Battalion volunteers of Santander 1, 000 

Second battalion volunteers of Barcelona 1, 037 

Belonging to the second half of the second battalion of volunteers of Madrid, 

of Cadiz, recruits, and Basque contingent 1, 310 

Third battalion volunteers of Barcelona . 1, 035 

Total 34,500 



There have gone also 14 ships of war, among them two iron-clad frigates ; a complete 
equipment for a regiment of mountain artillery, with 24 pieces, 24 caissons for artillery 
of 8 centimeters bore; 20 Krupp steel guns of 8 centimeters bore ; 4,000 projectiles for 
the same ; 5,000 kilograms of powder ; 7,400,000 cartridges of 14£ caliber, model of 1857 
and 1859; 1,000,000 metallic cartridges for needle guns; 10,500,000 caps; 15,000 kilo- 
grams of lead ; 9,600 carbines, model of 1857 ; 3,600 muskets, model of 1859 ; 8,000 En- 
field rifles ; 3,000 Berdan ; 500 short carbines ; 1,000 lances ; 2,000 sabers. 

This is an amount of material which seems impossible to have gone from Spain. 

There have been sent 12,530 different articles, composed of medicine chests, mat- 
tresses, &c, &c. 

Fifteen hundred seamen have also gone. I hope Senor Navarro will be satisfied with 

my explanation. 

* * * * *.* p * * 

Senor Navarro y Eodrigo said : * * * I take pleasure in noting the declar- 
ations with which his excellency introdued the statement which he has made, that 
these facts exhibit the energy, the vitality, and the will of the Spanish people in the 
defense of the Island of Cuba, in the preservation of this j>rovince within the great 
Spanish nationality ; and the great and heroic efforts which the government and the 
representatives of the nation are disposed to make to preserve this island forever within 
our nationality. 

In addition, I must declare that no idle curiosity impelled me to ask for these data. 
An important debate will soon take place here, perhaps the most important that can 
occupy the constituent Cortes, in respect to the constitution of Porto Eico, and then I 
shall have occasion to refer to some of the data furnished by the minister of war. 

H. Ex. Doc. 160 5 



60 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

No. 42. 
General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

N . 46.] Madrid, December 29, 18G9. 

I inclose a statement of the forces composing the "army of Cuba," 
recently published, to which I have added estimates of the numbers of 
the several arms, derived from semi-official sources. The effective 
strength of the army is said to be well kept np by the recruiting service 
in Spain. It is true that many recruits have been sent forward during 
the last four months, besides the re-enforcements; but it would be safe, I 
think, to assume that the figures of the field reports are much below the 
estimate transmitted. The publication is doubtless made to satisfy the 
people of Spain that the government is doing all in its power to put 
down the insurrection, and the omission of any precise statement of 
the actual numbers present for duty seems intended to invite the infer- 
ence that the respective organizations are maintained at the full stand- 
ard. At all events, there is no doubt that the estimate is much below 
the number of troops raised for service in Cuba since the insurrection. 

During the past week several journals have stated that a note has 
been sent to the Spanish government announcing the resolution of the 
President to recognize the insurgents in Cuba as belligerents. " La Po- 
litical the organ of the "union liberals," with whom the regent and the 
late secretary of state, Mr. Silvela, are identified, goes so far as to indicate 
your line of argument, and the views of a Spanish writer on interna- 
tional law, Piquelme, represented to have been cited by yourself in sup- 
port of the conclusions of the President. The " Impartial," a ministerial 
journal, heretofore edited by the present under-secretary of state, Mr. 
Gassett, has denied the statement. The " Epoca," also, which was fore 
most last September in sounding the alarm when our good offices were 
formally tendered, has contradicted the story on my authority, at least so 
tar as this legation is informed. Nevertheless, the assertion is repeated 
by its authors, who claim to have obtained their information from diplo- 
matic sources. 

There is evidently much anxiety felt, and not without reason, in regard 
to the effect which will be produced in the United States by the failure 
thus far of the present campaign in Cuba, from which such decisive 
results were confidently predicted. If, with the exhaustive efforts made 
by this government to re-enforce the land and naval forces operating 
against the insurgents, they still, as it seems, hold their own, the im- 
pression in the United States cannot be more favorable to their cause 
than the despondency which is already apparent here in all except official 
circles. The main reliance now is on the services anticipated from the 
gunboats, in depriving the insurgents of resources from abroad. 

No reference has been made by ministers publicly to the President's 
message, nor has it been mentioned in any of the interviews I have had 
with the president of the council, the secretary of state, or the colonial 
minister. The journals continue to discuss, and generally to deprecate, 
the expression of the sympathy of the government and people of the 
United States for the cause of the insurgents, as well as the President's 
declaration of the right of the government of the United States to de- 
termine when it may rightfully proclaim its neutrality in a conflict be- 
tween nations, or between a colony struggling for independence and the 
parent state. It is remarkable that in all these discussions, and _ gen- 
erally in this country, it is assumed that Spain never conceded the rights 
of belliaerents to the so-called Confederate States. The Queen's proc- 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 67 

lamation of June, 1861, is forgotten; and the large and profitable com- 
merce carried on between Havana and the blockaded ports of the South, 
in enemies' ships which changed their flag in Cuban waters, is quite 
ignored.. 

The British minister, Mr. Layard, informed me night before last that 
he had been instructed by Lord Clarendon to second my suggestions to 
this government in relation to the abolition of slavery in Cuba and Porto 
Eico. I replied that all I had said on the subject was unofficial, and so 
understood by the cabinet ; that I had furnished the colonial secretary 
with a memorandum of the history and results of emancipation in the 
United States, and had otherwise endeavored to fortify his apparent 
disposition to deal with the question of colonial reform in a large and 
liberal sense; that I was, however, rather discourged by the procras- 
tination of the committee of the Cortes, and of the secretary himself, 
who seemed, after all, inclined to yield to the rej)resentations of the re- 
actionists. Mr. Layard said he had spoken to Mr. Martos on the subject, 
who had remarked that the government could do nothing in the way of 
reform or enfranchisement for Cuba while the rebellion was flagrant, 
without alienating the Spanish party in the island ; but that changes of 
administration in Porto Eico would be radical, and would probably in- 
clude a measure for the gradual abolition of slavery. 

If this be done, the peninsular party in Cuba will have fewer motives 
to resist the independence of the island; for with slavery abolished in 
Porto Eico, there would remain little hope of perpetuating it in Cuba. 
Administrative and social reforms once established in the Antilles, the 
Spanish element in the islands — that is to say, a portion of the slave- 
holders and the persons employed in the colonial administration — would 
have neither the disposition nor the means to resist much longer the 
realization of the wishes of a great majority of the people of Cuba and 
Porto Eico. * * * * * 



Estimate of the Spanish forces composing tJie "Army of Cuba, ' compiled from the statement 
published in La Iberia of December %$, 1869, and from semi-official sources of information. 

The strength of battalions, batteries, and squadrons, conforms to the regulations of 
the Spanish service. 

INFANTRY. 

Eight regiments of infantry of the line, two battalions of eight hundred 

each 12,800 

Twenty-five battalions of light infantry, one thousand each 25, 000 

Two battalions of the guard — all veterans — one thousand each 2, 000 

Two battalions of militia (estimated) 1, 600 

Eleven battalions of infantry, organized in Cuba, (estimated to be of 
the same strength as peninsular light infantry) 11, 000 

52,400 

ARTILLERY. 

One regiment, two battalions of four batteries each — eight companies. 1, 000 
One regiment of mountain artillery, two battalions oi four batteries 

each — eight companies 1, 000 

2, 000 

Field artillery being organized, farce not stated. 

CAVALRY. 

< 

Twenty-five squadrons — fifty companies of one hundred and fifty each (full 

strength in Spanish army) 7, 500 

ENGINEERS. 

One battalion — ten companies of one hundred and fifty each 1, 500 



68 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

MARINES. 

Four battalions 4,000 

67, 400 
Beside these forces in the field, there are more than forty thousand volunteer 
troops doing garrison duty 40, 000 

Grand total 107, 400 

RECAPITULATION. 

Infantry, fifty-six battalions 52, 400 

Artillery, fo^r battalions, sixty-four guns 2, 000 

Cavalry, twenty-five squadrons 7, 500 

Engineers, one battalion 1, 500 

Marines, four battalions ' 4, 000 

Volunteers doing garrison duty 40, 000 

Total 107,400 



No. 43. 

Mr. Fish to General Sickles. 

No. 20.] Washington, December 30, 1869. 

I have received your dispatches Nos. 36, 37, and 38, dated the 1st, 3d, 
and 5th instant, respectively. 

I have read attentively the account which your No. 36 gives of an 
interview between Mr. Martos and yourself, concerning the Spanish 
gunboats at New York. The views expressed by the minister of state 
on that occasion are just and liberal, and the assurance that Spain in- 
tends to initiate and develop immediately the amplest and most liberal 
reforms in the colonial policy is received with great satisfaction. 



No. 44. 

Mr. Fish to General Sickles. 

No. 22.] Washington, January 7, 1870. 

I have received your dispatch of the 13th ultimo, No. 40. 

The information it conveys of the comments of the Madrid journals 
on the portion of the President's message relative to Spanish affairs, 
as well as of the political situation of that country, is very interest- 
ing. 

In a conversation recently held with Mr. Lopez Eoberts, the Span- 
ish minister to Washington, in which allusion was made to the state- 
ment contained in the hnal paragraph of your dispatch, to the effeet 
that the prisons of Spain are open now to the recruiting officers, who 
are authorized to furnish pardon to offenders willing to enlist for 
service in Cuba, that gentleman assured me that the class of offend- 
ers referred to embrace only those who have been imprisoned in conse- 
quence of political offenses against the government. If, however, upon 
inquiry, you should obtain information conflicting with the above assu- 
rance of Mr. Lopez Eoberts, you will be exjDected to duly advise the 
department thereof. 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 69 

No. 45. 

General SicMes to Mr. Fish. 

[Telegram.] 

Madrid, January 9, 1870. 
I deem it proper to state, in view of misapprehensions caused by the 
published abstract of my correspondence just now received, that I see 
no objection to the publication of the whole of it ; and, personally, I 
prefer that all be communicated, at least to the Senate, if not the coun- 
try. 



No. 46. 
Mr. Fish to General SicMes. 

No. 26.] Washington, January 26, 1870. 

Your dispatch No. 46, containing an account of the " army of Cuba," 
has been received, and has been read with attention. 

The public interest felt in the United States in the Cuban struggle 
has decreased since the flagrant violations of laws by the agents of the 
insurgents became known, and alienated the popular sympathy. 

Had the Cuban Junta expended their money and energy in sending 
to the insurgents arms and munitions of war, as they might have done 
consistently with our own statutes and with the law of nations, instead of 
devoting them to deliberate violation of the laws of the United States ; 
and had they, in lieu of illegally employing persons within the domin- 
ion of the United States to go in armed bands to Cuba, proceeded 
thither unarmed themselves to take personal part in the struggle for 
independence, it is possible that the result would have been different 
in Cuba, and it is certain that there would have been a more ardent 
feeling in the United States in favor of their cause, and more respect 
for their own sincerity and personal courage. 

You are yourself a personal witness of the strength of the sympa- 
thy which the President and all the members of the cabinet felt for 
them before they made these unlawful demonstrations. 

I observe that you think that the Spanish campaign in Cuba has 
thus far failed. Your standpoint of observation is a good one, and 
I trust that you will keep the department constantly advised of Mad- 
rid opinions on this subject $ especially as the news received here, 
though fluctuating, indicates in the main the reverse. 

This government has to this time succeeded in maintaining its free- 
dom of action on this question. Strong pressure has been made on the 
one side to induce it to recognize a state of belligerency ; and, on the 
other, to induce it to declare that it will not recognize such a state. It 
has declared, and still maintains, that it will be governed in its action 
entirely by the facts as they occur. 

It is proper, at the same time, to bear in mind the obligations to which 
the commerce of the United States will be subjected in case a state of 
war shall be recognized ; but should Spain, after her great and exhaust- 
ive effort, fail to restore a state of peace on the island, the President 
must reserve to himself a complete liberty of action in that event. 

In your interview with Mr. Layard, I notice that, to his statement 



70 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

that he had been instructed by Lord Clarendon to second your sugges- 
tion to the Spanish government in relation to the abolition of slavery, 
you replied that all you have said upon the subject had been unofficial. 
This naturally causes some surprise in this department, where, from the 
commencement and through all the stages of negotiations and corres- 
pondence, the instructions to make the abolition of slavery a sine qua 
non have been given in the most positive manner. 

It is not to be supposed that your remark to Mr. Layard was intended 
in the broad sense in which it may be interpreted, as implying an ab- 
sence of instructions from the department on this important subject. 
If, when the offer of our good offices was withdrawn, you were not in- 
structed to continue to urge the question of abolition, it was because 
your dispatches indicated that the Spanish cabinet were not then in a 
mood to listen to suggestions from Washington. I have regarded it, 
and still regard it, as your duty under your existing instructions, at all 
times, whenever in your judgment a fitting opportunity offers, to do all 
in your power to secure complete emancipation not only in Cuba but 
also in Porto Eico. 

It becomes more apparent every day that this contest cannot termi- 
nate without the abolition of slavery. This government regards the 
government at Madrid as committed to that result. You have several 
times received positive assurances to that effect from more than one 
member of that cabinet. They have also promised large and liberal re- 
forms in the Spanish colonial policy. As late as the 3d of December last, 
the foreign minister thought these promises of enough importance to 
make them the subject of a cable telegram. 

You will, therefore, if it shall appear that the insurrection is regarded 
as suppressed, frankly state that this government, relying upon the as- 
surances so often given, will expect steps to be taken for the emancipa- 
tion of the slaves in the Spanish colonies, as well as for the early initia- 
tion of the promised reforms, and you will then communicate to Mr. 
Layard the fact that you have done so. 



II.— CORRESPONDENCE TRANSMITTED TO THE SENATE DECEMBER 20, 1869. 

No. 47. 
Mr. Sail to Mr. Seward. 

No. 82.] Matanzas, November 18, 1868. 

I am mainly indebted to a Cuban gentleman, of conservative political 
opinions, for the statements contained in this communication in refer- 
ence to the extraordinary events at present transpiring in this island 
and the opinions prevailing in this locality. 

As far as my own information extends these sentiments are impartial 
and reliable. The belief that they may prove of interest in the present 
emergency, induces me to communicate them to the department : 

The news of the late revolution in Spain was received here with surprise, and no lit- 
tle enthusiasm by the native Cubans and many Spanish liberals ;' the Cubans thought 
they could discern the dawn of a new era, and a radical change of Spanish policy in 
the government of this island, a feature full of hope for the cause of liberty and en- 
lightened progress, to be realized without resort to arms and bloodshed. 

The excitement caused by the information first received soon passed away, and pub- 
lic attention became fixed upon the institution of slavery and the course likely to be 
adopted by the Madrid government in regard to it. Naturally, every shade of opinion 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 71 

has been expressed, from the extreme radical — in favor of its immediate abolition — to 
the propagandist — devoted to maintaining and perpetuating the institution. 

The diversity of opinion in regard to slavery is worthy of notice ; the more intelli- 
gent of the Cubans, including a small number of slaveholders, are in favor of imme- 
diate abolition ; they contend that it is not only an obligation due to justice and 
humanity, but a measure of sound policy that would be attended with less danger to 
the peace and good order of the island than others of prospective emancipation ; that it 
would obviate all inducement to insurrection on the part of the blacks, and that any 
perturbation of the present system of labor could be easily arranged without materially 
reducing the productions of the island. 

They claim, too, that the African slave-trade will only finally and definitely cease 
with the unconditional abolition of slavery in the island, where, alone, it meets with 
any encouragement. 

They believe that while slavery exists there will be no government established here 
in which they can have a voice ; that the island will continue to be governed by a re- 
pressive, censorious system, under pretext of preserving order ; in other words, the 
forcible submission of the blacks, to the exclusion of all the rights and privileges of 
free government. 

The generality of slave owners, Cubans as well as Spaniards, favor a plan of emanci- 
pation that will extinguish the institution in ten years, all born from and after the 
date of the decree to be declared free ; they believe that by this plan the social transi- 
tion may be gradually and insensibly effected, without serious injury to proprietors, 
whose interests are, or should be, considered identical with the general welfare of the 
island. This conservative class care very little about the advantages of free govern- 
ment, as long as they are protected in their material interests, aud the immediate 
abolition of slavery is not attempted ; they believe, also, that during the proposed 
period of ten years, European emigrants may be induced to come to the island and 
adopt agricultural pursuits ; meanwhile they trust that the tranquillity of the island 
will remain unaltered and its resources developed. 

A few Cuban and many Spanish proprietors oppose all plans interfering with their 
favorite institution ; the most that they will consent to, and that with much reluct- 
ance, is a decree of freedom to all born from and after a date yet to be fixed upon. This 
class still persists in reviving the African slave trade, to which many of them owe their 
fortunes. It is known that they have sent commissioners to Madrid to protest against 
any plan of abolition or emancipation, differing from their own, that may be proposed. 
They desire the perpetuation of slavery, under the conviction that not only their own 
prosperity depends upon it, but because the independence of the island would be next 
to an impossibility while the present system remains unchanged. With the loss of the 
island they know that Spain and her subjects would lose the languid influence they 
still maintain in the western hemisphere. 

While the whites at the clubs, in public places, and at their own houses, discuss this 
question with little reserve, the other race, free and slave, listen in silence, not a few 
of them appearing to understand the question as well as their masters. It is believed 
that should a just and equitable system of emancipation be adopted they will remain 
quiet, but should other counsels prevail their peaceable submission can hardly be ex- 
pected. 

Almost simultaneously with the revolution in Spain, and apparently without concert 
with it, an insurrection broke out in the eastern and central department of the island. 

Notwithstanding the difficulties that occur in obtaining reliable information from 
that direction, the reserve of the government, keeping back important news, which 
afterward comes into circulation with all kinds of exaggerations, there appears to be 
little doubt but that the insurrection is of a much more formidable character than we 
were at first led to suppose, having its ramifications throughout the island, and its pro- 
gramme nothing less than absolute independence of Spain. 

A state of poverty and decay has been noticeable in those departments during the 
past two years, the evils of which have been greatly aggravated by the system of tax- 
ation adopted a year since, and applied with little discretion or judgment to the more 
indigent portion of the rural population, principally engaged in raising cattle, culti- 
vating tobacco, and cutting timber. 

The discontent caused by the unusual and inappealable measures culminated in a 
" pronunciamiento " of the town of Yara, a short distance from Bayamo, headed by Don 
Pedro Vicente Aguilera, a landed proprietor of wealth, who, it is reported, at the same 
time gave freedom to two hundred of his own slaves. 

Simultaneously with this movement other " pronunciamientoes " occurred in Tunas, 
Manzanillo, and Manibio, under the leadership of the well-known Cubans Cespedes. 
Arteaga, and Chamizo, to which, it has been reported, some small detachments of 
Spanish troops have united. 

The wild character of the country where the insurrection has broken out, the entire 
want of railroads and even common roads, are greatly in favor of the " insurgents." It 
is well known, however, that they are deficient in arms, munitions, and effective or- 



72 STKUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

gauization, with which to oppose the forces that have been sent against them ; still it 
is reported that their numbers are now about equal to that of the entire Spanish force 
in the island. 

It is generally admitted that should the government not succeed in cheeking this 
insurrection it will prove ruinous to the best interests of the island. Many, however, 
are confident that every motive for its continuance will cease with the arrival of Gen- 
eral Dulce, the publication of a general amnesty, the adoption of a liberal and just 
policy in regard to the inhabitants of the insurrectionary districts carried out in good 
faith, and a definite settlement of the slavery question. It is believed that such a 
course will alone put an end to the present unsatisfactory state of affairs, the insurrec- 
tion having already assumed such proportions as will make it very difficult, if not im- 
possible, for the government to subdue it by force. 

In addition to the foregoing, I beg leave to state that in this consular 
district good order prevails without any evidence of a rebellious spirit 
among any portion of the inhabitants ; however, should the insurrection 
extend itself in this direction it is difficult to predict the consequences. 
The removal of General Dulce is looked for with great anxiety. 



No. 48. 
Mr. Sail to Mr. Seward. 

No. 83.] Matanzas, December 17, 1868. 

Since addressing the department on the 18th ultimo, I have to report 
that a marked change is noticeable in the political condition of this part 
of the island. The same difficulties for acquiring information still exist. 
There are any number of rumors and exaggerated reports put in circu- 
lation by both parties, but it appears to be generally admitted that up 
to the present time the government has made no progress in quelling 
the insurrection, allaying the excitement of the inhabitants, or inspiring 
confidence. 

The only attempt to revolt in this vicinity appears to have occurred 
at Jaquey Grande, near the terminus of the Matanzas railroad, where 
it is reported some three to four hundred insurgents met a few days 
ago, but not having obtained the arms that had been promised them 
they returned to their homes. With this exception there has been no 
demonstration of importance, but there is every indication that a gene- 
ral plan of insurrection exists in this and other principal cities, if not 
throughout the whole of the island. 

In this city and vicinity there is much excitement among the Cuban 
population, and it is believed that only a want of arms prevents their 
rising against the authorities, while the Spanish, or loyal, portion of the 
inhabitants are becoming exasperated to such a degree, that it seems 
next to impossible for two such antagonistic elements to exist much 
longer, side by side, without coming into conflict. 

It, appears, also, that in other parts of the island the insurrectionary 
movement gains strength and adherents ; even the conservative class 
of Cubans, that a month ago hoped and predicted a settlement of all 
difficulties, with.the arrival of General Dulce, now fear, and even admit, 
that the affair has progressed so far that there can be no recession, and 
whether as a question of months or years, it can only terminate in sepa- 
ration with Spain. 

The question of slavery appears, meanwhile, to have been lost sight 
of; the insurgents, however, rely upon the assistance of the free blacks 
in case of need. 

Arrests are numerous ; parties in custody of soldiers and police are 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 73 

frequently seen in the streets, many of them from the surrounding coun- 
try destined to the prisons of this place or the fortresses of Havana. 

# # * * # * 

There is a general distrust in commercial circles ; business is greatly 
paralyzed, notwithstanding the promise of an abundant crop, just 
coming into market. There is no disposition on the part of any one to 
make investments— in fact, all would be glad to realize and remove their 
means out of the island — evidently fearing that the worst has not yet 
come. 

I have endeavored in the foregoing to give the department an impar- 
tial and reliable account of the present state of affairs in this district, 
and hope it may be of interest. 



No. 49. 
Mr. Sail to Mr. Seward. 



No. 89.] Matanzas, February 25, 1869. 

I have the honor to accompany herewith copy of a letter received to- 
day from Mr. James H. Horner, consular agent at Sagua la Grande. 

j.. ji. ai. -a. -u. 4k * 



Mr. Horner to Mr. Hall. 

Sagua la Gkande, February 23, 1869. 

In order to comply with your request to furnish you with reliable information re- 
specting the insurrectionary movement in this vicinity, I have been obliged to wait 
till now, as the reports heretofore received have been very much exaggerated. 

There are, however, some facts that may possess interest, and one is that Sagua la 
Grande, and the jurisdiction of that name, are under martial law, and are declared in a 
state of siege. 

Day before yesterday the insurgents in the number of 1,800 (reported) were attacked 
by about 400 infantry, and 100 cavalry volunteers, in the estate " San Miguel," near 
Villaclara. The rebels were hidden in the cane fields, and the government troops 
charged upon them, and the rebels set fire to the cane in many places at once, think- 
ing to envelop the troops in the flames. The fire drove both parties to the batey, 
(yard,) and the rebels hid themselves in the buildings, where they were hunted and 
shot down in great numbers. The official report states, or will state, that there was a 
" horrible butchery." The government forces lost fourteen in killed. The loss of the 
other side is not stated. 

To-day the passenger train from the "Encruzijada" to the Boca, and which passes 
through Sagua, has been captured, at least it is so supposed, as the train ought to have 
arrived at 8.30 a. m., and now, at 9 p. m., it has not arrived, and nothing has been heard 
of it. An engine was sent to ascertain the cause of the detention, and was fired upon 
by the insurgents, and obliged to return without accomplishing its object. 

The prison here has been fortified by surrounding it at some distance with sugar 
hogsheads, set on end and filled with earth. The " pass " of the river (ford) is defended 
by the guards with a field-piece. 

The rebels have destroyed several bridges between this and Las Cruces, thus inter- 
rupting our railroad communication with Cienfuegos. 

A few days since a fight took place at Colonia de Santo Domingo, between the insur- 
gents and the forces of the government, the result of which is not known, but believed 
to be important. 

Should there be any disposable vessels of war of the United States at Havana or 
Matanzas, I think it would be favorable to American interests here to have an occa- 
sional visit from them during the present state of affairs. 

I suppose no steps have been taken to allow the United States flag to be used here, 
as it is in Cardenas and Cienfuegos. If the place should be taken, it might, if it could 
be used, afford some protection to the families of foreigners. 



74 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

No. 50. 
Mr. Hall to Mr. Wa&hburne. 

No. 4.] Havana, March 11, 1869. 

# * # # # # 

I have the honor to accompany herewith a copy and translation of a 
document, purporting to be a decree of the Cuban insurgents assembly, 

abolishing slavery in this island. 

# # # * # # 



[Translation.] 

The institution of slavery, introduced into Cuba by Spanish dominion, must be ex- 
tinguished along ■with it. The assembly of representatives of the center, having in 
view the eternal principles of justice, in the name of liberty and the people that it 
represents, decrees : 

1. Slavery is abolished. 

2. The owners of those that have been slaves will be indemnified in due time. 

3. All those who by this decree obtain their freedom will contribute their efforts to 
the independence of Cuba. 

4. To this end, those who may be found apt and necessary for military service will 
enter our ranks, enjoying the same compensation and the same consideration as other 
soldiers of the liberal army. 

5. Those who are not destined to military service will continue while the war lasts 
at the same labors in which they are now employed, to preserve estates in a productive 
condition, and thus provide subsistence to those who offer their blood to the cause of 
common liberty, a duty imperative alike on all those citizens now free, of whatever 
race, exempt from military service. 

6. A special regulation will prescribe the details in regard to the execution of this 
decree. 

Patria y Libertad, Camagney, February 26, 1869. 

The assembly : Salvador de Cisiieros, Edwardo Agramonte, Ignacio Agramonte, Fran- 
cisco Sanchez, Antonio Zambrana. 

General A. CASTILLO. 



No. 51. 
y Mr. Sail to Mr. Hunter. 

No. 17.] Habana, March 27, 1869. 

I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy and translation of the 
proclamation of Captain General Dulce, relative to vessels approaching 
the island with hostile intentions, having men, arms, or munitions of 
war on board. 

1 would respectfully call the particular attention of the department to 
the extraordinary features of this proclamation. 



[Translation. — Official.] 
SUPERIOR POLITICAL GOVERNMENT OP THE PROVINCE OP CUBA. - 

It being necessary for the better service of the state, and with the firm determination 
that the insurrection already held in check by the force of arms in the interior shall 
receive no exterior aid that may contribute to its prolongation, and to the ruin of 
property, industry, and commerce — using the extraordinary and discretional powers in 
me vested by the supreme government of the nation — 1 decree the following : 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 75 

Vessels which may be captured in Spanish waters or on the high seas near to the 
island having on hoard men, arms, and munitions, or effects that can in any manner 
contribute, promote, or foment the insurrection in this province, whatsoever their deri- 
vation and destination, after examination of their papers and register, shall be de facto 
considered as enemies of the integrity of our territory, and treated as pirates, in accord- 
ance with the ordinances of the navy. 

All persons captured in such vessels, without regard to their number, will be imme- 
diately executed. DOMINGO DULCE. 

Havana, March 24, 1869. 



No. 52. 

Mr. Fish to Mr. Lo§ez Roberts. 

Washington, April 3, 1869. 

I am directed by the President of the United States to invite your 
serious attention, and through you that of your government, to a pro- 
clamation of his excellency the Captain General of Cuba, of the 24th of 
last month, an authentic copy of which has this day been received at 
this department. 

That instrument, in its preamble, refers to the existing insurrection in • 
Cuba, and declares that the measures which it proposes for the suppres- 
sion of that insurrection are necessary for that purpose. Those meas- 
ures are: "Vessels which may be captured in Spanish waters or on the 
high seas near to the island (Cuba) having on board men, arms, and 
munitions, or effects that can in any manner contribute to promote or 
foment the insurrection in this province, whatever their derivation or 
destination, after examination of their papers and register, shall be de 
facto considered as enemies of the integrity of our territory, and treated 
as pirates in accordance with the ordinances of the navy. 

"All persons captured in such vessels, without regard to their number, 
will be immediately executed." 

It is to be regretted that so high a functionary as the Captain General 
of Cuba should, as this paper seems to indicate, have overlooked the 
obligations of his government pursuant to the law of nations, and espe- 
cially its promises in the treaty between the United States and Spain of 
1795. 

Under that law and treaty the United States expect for their citizens 
and vessels the privilege of carrying to the enemies of Spain, whether 
those enemies be claimed as Spanish subjects or citizens of other countries, 
subject only to the requirements of a legal blockade, all merchandise not 
contraband of war. Articles contraband of war, when destined for the 
enemies of Spain, are liable to seizure on the high seas, but the right of 
seizure is limited to such articles only, and no claim for its extension to 
other merchandise, or to persons not in the civil, military, or naval ser- 
vice of the enemies of Spain, will be acquiesced in by the United States. 

This government certainly cannot assent to the punishment by Spanish 
, authorities of any citizen of the United States for the exercise of a privi- 
lege to which he may be entitled under public law and treaties. 

It is consequently hoped that his excellency the Captain General of 
Cuba will either recall the proclamation referred to, or will give such 
instructions to the proper officers as will prevent its illegal application 
to citizens of the United States or their property. A contrary course 
might endanger those friendly and cordial relations between the two 
governments which it is the hearty desire of the President should be 
maintained. 



76 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

No. 53. 

Mr. Sail to Mr. Fish. 

No. 22.] Havana, April 2, 1869. 

I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of a private letter 

received to-day from , a highly respectable merchant, 

residing in the Remedios district. 

I have thought it my duty, without expressing any opinion of my own 
in regard to the justice of his remarks, to transmit to the department a 
copy of his letter, merely stating that as far as my information extends, 
they agree in the main with the views of a majority of other American 
merchants residing here and at other parts of the ^'sland. 



Mr. to Mr. Hall. 

Caibarien, March 25, 1869. 

In answer to your interrogatories regarding the welfare of American citizens in the 
outports of the island, I would say that they are thus far being treated by the govern- 
ment with all due consideration ; more cannot be asked or expected than they are 
receiving, and in turn, all American-born citizens are conducting themselves in a manner 
that cannot be otherwise than satisfactory to the authorities. 

In general, American citizens residing here are against this disorderly and unpromis- 
ing insurrection, which is causing so much harm to the island and to all interested 
property holders. Not only Americans, but all foreign residents are desirous that the 
government shall succeed, and trust no sudden change which would be disastrous to all. 

The amount of American capital in the outports is very heavy, and would suffer 
greatly if any change took place. Being well informed of the material of the insurgent 
party, the larger portion of whom are unprincipled persons, badly organized, and without 
discipline, I think certainly cannot succeed and the government will soon put them 
down. In the four districts of Sagua, Cienfuegos, Villaclara, and Remedios, they have 
succeeded in breaking up the large bands, and now those that still rove in these dis- 
tricts are comparatively few and in bands of very small numbers, being driven from 
place to place, fleeing like robbers, and by their atrocious actions lately committed in 
these districts deserve severe treatment. 

It would be very detrimental to the interests and safety of American residents for our 
government to take any steps in acknowledging the insurgents as belligerents, and it 
is the universal wish of Americans here that they should not. The insurgents certainly 
are declining, and they are very far from being in a position to be recognized. 



No. 54. 

Mr. Lopez Roberts to Mr. Fish. 
[Translation.] 

Washington, April 5, 1869. 
The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 
of Spain, thinks the time has now arrived to address to the honorable 
Secretary of State of the United States a few observations in reference to 
facts which he has heard of through the public papers, and through offi- 
cial communications received from the consuls of Spain in different ports 
of the United States, and from public rumor — facts which affect the 
interests and dignity of the nation which the undersigned has the honor 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 77 

to represent, and which, of course, must be of interest to the govern- 
ment of the American nation, whose friendly relations with Spain he is 
pleased to recognize, and which he deems his agreeable duty to preserve. 
Of the facts alluded to, some consist of urgent and clamorous insti- 
gations, which the disloyal Spaniards of Cuba, in rebellion against its 
nationality, and in exile for that crime, are trying to promote in various 
ways, for the purpose of creating an opinion in favor of their evil cause 
among the people of the United States, by inserting in the public pa- 
pers false reports of events said to have occurred in that island, and 
boasted victories, always contradicted, of the rebel arms. Others re- 
ferred to are calls of meetings, pompously announced and numerously 
attended, where speeches are made, abounding in extravagances and 
absurd falsehoods, intended to captivate the understanding and mislead 
public opinion, by imposing upon the credulity of the people and allur- 
ingly flattering their instincts. And we may add to this kind of ex- 
citement the stimulus of musical concerts, public collections of money 
to aid the rebels, and even sermons and prayers in certain churches, 
calling for divine aid for the triumph of the cause, after public an- 
nouncements to increase the attendance, which proves that, instead of 
Heaven's aid, they are trying by this ostensible sanctity to seduce the 
multitude and secure the moral and material aid of man. 

Facts of another kind, which are referred to, are a natural sequence 
of those mentioned, and prove that their promoters were not disap- 
pointed in their expectations. In fact, the honorable Secretary of State 
has been informed by the undersigned that frequent commnnications 
have been received at this legation from consuls of Spain at various 
ports of this republic, stating that piratical expeditions are in prepara- 
tion against the legitimate government of Spain in Cuba ; that arms 
and ammunition are sent there in sailing vessels and steamers, and 
other acts in positive violation of international law have been perpe- 
trated ; and although the undersigned knows, for the honorable Secre- 
tary of State has so informed him, that orders have been given to the 
proper officials of the government of the Union to stop such outrages, 
and cause a strict observance of the laws, yet it is certain that, in spite 
of his zeal these officers have not been able to prevent some expeditions 
from reaching their places of destination, as is publicly known, and 
that others have been captured by Spanish cruisers, near the coast of 
Cuba, with positive proof of their criminal intentions. 

So advanced are these rebel refugees in their plans of hostility, and 
so much confidence have they in the popularity of their cause, that the 
so-called board of directors established in New York has assumed the 
fancy title of the independent government of Cuba, and has dared to send 
an agent to Washington, with the vain hope that he will be received by 
this government as the representative of the rebels. 

But this is not in question at present; nor does the undersigned look 
upon it seriously, or presume that the government at Washington will 
consider it so ; but he proposes to establish the truth of the facts, so as 
to show what the insurrection in Cuba is, and what it means, and the 
nature of the fancied entity which the rebel refugees in New York insist 
on calling the revolutionary government. 

The rebels have no communication with each other ; they occupy no 
place as a center of operations ; nor have they, in the whole island, a 
single city, a single town, a single village or hamlet, nor even a point 
on the coast, where they might collect their forces and date their orders 
and proclamations; but they fly from our troops and never offer battle, 
except when forced to do so ; and their only mode of warfare is to ap- 



78 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

ply the incendiary torch to estates, thus reducing to ashes and ruins the 
whole wealth of the island, if not prevented by Spanish soldiers. 

Such are the armies and such is the government that pretend to offer 
themselves to the American people as the champions of civilization and 
of liberty. 

The undersigned has already stated that he does not deem these ex- 
planations necessary to convince the enlightened government of the 
United States, and he believes it superfluous to add, that the govern- 
ment of Spain would not accept any other signification that might be 
given to the persons and things, even laying aside these facts and ante- 
cedents. His sole intention is to lament the evil effect this pernicious 
doctrine might have on public opiuion in the United States, a doctrine 
propagated by persons who maliciously distort facts, using prevarica- 
tions, complaining of want of liberty, rising against the government of 
their nation, just at a time when all the liberty they could desire, or all 
that was enjoyed by the entire nation, had been granted them — fran- 
chises which the government at Madrid offers to them again, as soon as 
order shall be restored. 

Neither is the intention of the undersigned to protest against the 
right of American citizens, each and every one of them, to express their 
opinions in any way they please, provided it be in accordance to law, 
for the Spanish people have recently acquired the same right ; yet the 
Spanish government, while claiming it for their people reciprocally, is 
no less obliged to comply with the laws and attend to friendly relations 
between nations ; otherwise it would think it had not done its duty, if 
it did not publicly declare its religious respect for the sovereignty and 
integrity of a friendly nation. 

Fortunately, the traditions and antecedents of good correspondence 
between the governments of the United States and Spain could not be 
more satisfactory. 

While Spain recalls with grateful pleasure the many occasions, during 
the civil war in the United States, when reciprocal testimonials of 
friendly deference and cordial courtesy were passed between the two 
governments, and that she is perhaps the only nation against which the 
government at Washington has not had occasion to present subsequent 
claims for acts of doubtful neutrality, the American nation ought to re- 
member the noble conduct displayed by the government of President 
Milliard Fillmore, in 1851, on an occasion identical with that of the 
present, when a number of rebels conspired against their country by 
organizing filibustering expeditions in the United States. 

The noble and loyal act of that administration, doing its duty with 
honored frankness, not only toward Spain, but toward its own people, 
showing them how to act without violation of rights, is worthy of being 
mentioned here in a copy of the i)roclaination issued on that occasion : 

A PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas there is reason to believe that a military expedition is about to be fitted out 
in the United States with the intention to invade the Island of Cuba, a colony of Spain, 
with which this country is at peace ; and whereas it is believed that this expedition is 
instigated and set on foot chiefly by foreigners, who dare to make our shores the scene 
of their guilty and hostile preparations against a friendly power, and seek by false- 
hood and misrepresentation to seduce our own citizens, especially the young and incon- 
siderate, into their wicked schemes, an ungrateful return for the benefits conferred 
upon them by this people in permitting them to make our country an asylum from op- 
pression, and in flagrant abuse of the hospitality thus extended to them ; 

And whereas such expeditions can only be regarded as adventures for plunder and 
robbery, and must meet the condemnation of the civilized world, while they are de- 
rogatory to the character of our country, in violation of the laws of nations, and ex- 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 79 

pressly prohibited by our own statutes, which declare that if any person shall, within 
the territory or jurisdiction of the United States, begin or set on foot, or provide or 
prepare the means for, any military expedition or enterprise, to be carried on from 
thence, against the territory or dominions of any foreign prince or state, or of any 
colony, district, or people with whom the United States are at peace, every person so 
offending shall be deemed guilty of high misdemeanor, and shall be fined not exceed- 
ing three thousand dollars, and imprisoned- not more than three years : 

Now, therefore, I have issued this my proclamation, warning all persons who shall 
connect themselves with any such enterprise or expedition, in violation of our laws 
and national obligations, that they will thereby subject themselves to the heavy pen- 
alties denounced against such offenses, and will forfeit their claim to the protection o± 
this o-overnment, or any interference on their behalf, no matter to what extremities 
they may be reduced in consequence of their illegal conduct. And therefore I exhort 
all o-ood'citizens, as they regard our national reputation, as they respect their own 
laws and the laws of nations, as they value the blessings of peace and the welfare of 
their country, to discountenance and, by all lawful means, prevent any such enterprise ; 
and I call upon every officer of this government, civil or military, to use all efforts in 
his power to arrest, for trial and punishment, every such offender against the laws of 
the country. 

Given under my hand the twenty-fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord one 
thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, and the seventy-fifth year of the independence 
of the United States. „ ' ^. „ 

MILLARD FILLMORE. 

By the President : 

W. S. Derrick, 

Acting Secretary of State. 

The undersigned is pleased to believe that a similar declaration is now 
opportune ; and though the Spanish nation does not doubt the cordial 
friendship of the United States, yet a public and solemn avowal of the 
inclination and intention of the government to observe the laws and 
preserve justice toward Spain would have the salutary effect of dissi- 
pating false illusions and discouraging dangerous deceptions. 



No. 55. 
Mr. Fish to Mr. Lopez Roberts. 

Washington, April 17, 1869. 

The undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States, has the 
honor to acknowledge the receipt of the note of Mr. Roberts, envoy ex- 
traordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Spain, of the 5th instant. 

In this note, Mr. Eoberts, after stating various circumstances, sets 
forth a proclamation, issued on the 25th of April, 1851, by Mr. Fillmore, 
then President of the United States, and expresses the opinion that a 
similar declaration is now opportune. 

After a careful examination of Mr. Eobert's note, the undersigned fails 
to perceive the necessity, or the propriety at this time, of a proclama- 
tion by the President of the United States, such as Mr. Eoberts desires. 

The publication of an instrument of the character asked by Mr. Eob- 
erts would be the exercise of a power by the President which is resorted 
to only on extraordinary occasions, and when peculiar circumstances in- 
dicate its necessity. Such a power is not to be invoked lightly, or when 
the laws are in unquestioned vigor and efficiency, are respected by all 
persons, and are enforced by the ordinary agencies. 

When Mr. Fillmore's proclamation was issued in 1851, the internal 
peace and quiet of the Island of Cuba were undisturbed ; there was no 
insurrection of its inhabitants, no rebellion or revolution in progress 
within the island against the authority of Spain. There was, however, 



80 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

a movement on foot within the United States, indicating the intent of 
certain parties to organize within the territory of the United States an 
armed expedition with the design of invading the island, attempting to 
incite an insurrection, and to overthrow the authority of Spain there. 

Under such circumstances, Mr. Fillmore issued the proclamation re- 
ferred to, giving another instance of the watchfulness and earnestness 
of this government in regard to its obligations to all friendly powers. 

The circumstances of the day are wholly different from those which 
made that measure not only proper, but the natural, if not the necessary 
manifestation of the policy and the conduct of this government from its 
organization. A portion of the people of Cuba, for more than six months, 
have been in arms against the government of Spain over that island, 
and they are seeking, as they allege, relief from oppression. How just 
their complaint may be, or what the oppression is from which they de- 
sire relief, the undersigned does not purpose to discuss. He only refers 
to the objects of the insurrectionary party, as that party alleges them 
to be, to illustrate the entire difference between the events existing when 
Mr. Fillmore issued his proclamation and those which now exist. 

At present this government is not aware of any invasion of the Island 
of Cuba, or of any other possessions of Spain threatened from the 
United States, nor is any such believed to be in the course of prepara- 
tion. Mr. Roberts has, on several occasions, intimated to the under- 
signed the existence of individual or private attempts in different parts 
of the country to violate the neutrality laws of the United States. In 
every such instance, as Mr. Roberts very justly admits in his note, the 
proper officers of the government have been called upon immediately to 
vindicate the supremacy of the law, and no single instance is known or 
is believed to have arisen in which their interference, thus invoked, has 
not been efficient to prevent the apprehended violation. 

The government of the United States has very recently experienced 
the effects of a precipitate recognition of belligerent rights to a revolu- 
tionary movement whose powers of resistance and of endurance were sus- 
tained by the recognition on the part of a government at peace with the 
United States within a little more than two months after the outbreak 
of the insurrection. But having from its very origin been foremost in 
the assertion of neutral rights, and in setting the example of enforcing 
a strict neutrality, this government does not intend at present to depart 
from its traditional policy, but will execute, in good faith, the wise and 
efficient laws that have been enacted for the observance of its interna- 
tional duties of neutrality and friendship. 

Individuals, tempted either by the hope of gain or instigated by those 
engaged in the insurrection now pending in Cuba, may be led covertly 
to undertake unlawful enterprises. Such ventures are not confined to 
any one country or to any age. They always and everywhere occur 
with the opportunity. At this moment similar enterprises aimed at 
Cuba are well understood not to be limited to this hemisphere, but have 
also been set on foot in transatlantic countries. 

The proximity of the United States to Cuba has heretofore and must 
continue to tempt reckless and adventurous persons to embark in such 
undertakings. But, in the future, as in the past, every intimation 
from the Spanish government or its agents of the existence of any de- 
sign of an unlawful enterprise against Spain, will be met by the most 
vigorous interposition of the proper officers of the government, and the 
undersigned has no doubt that such interposition will be sufficient, with- 
out invoking the extraordinary power of the President to issue a special 
proclamation. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 81 

The sympathy of the people of the United States has ever manifested 
itself in favor of another people striving to secure for itself more liberal 
institutions, and the right of self-government ; this sympathy recently 
obtained strong expression when Spain threw off an existing oppression 
and placed herself among the more liberal governments of the world. 
It is now enlisted, beyond doubt, and strongly in favor of a more liberai 
government in Cuba than that which the policy of past ages and of the 
deposed government of Spain had fastened upon the people of that 
island, and it cannot be denied that there pervades the whole American 
people a special desire to see the right of self-government established in 
every region of the American hemisphere, so that the political destiny 
of America shall be independent of transatlantic control. This is no 
new desire ; it arises from no recent events, nor is it now for the first 
time made manifest. This government has ever been watchful and 
hopeful, but not aggressive j the desire of the American people for self- 
government by others has been, and is, held firmly, but consistently 
with the friendly relations which the United States desire to maintain 
with all other governments, and especially with those who still claim 
control over neighboring possessions. 

The undersigned has not specially referred to the facts and circum- 
stances cited by Mr. Eoberts, such as appeal to public opinion, false or 
exaggerated statements, public meetings, musical concerts, sermons and 
prayers, as indicative of the necessity of the proclamation which he 
requests. 

The freedom of speech, of the press, and the right of the people 
peacefully to assemble, whether for political purposes or for entertain- 
ments, or to hear sermons, or for prayer, cannot be called in question 
nor admit of any interference. 

The experience of this country of nearly a century has demonstrated 
the harmlessness of extravagant speech, and even of falsehood, when 
the right of speech and the freedom of the press are untrammeled. 

The government cannot, and will not, attempt to influence the thought 
or the sympathies of its citizens ; it will limit itself to the interposition 
of its power against every improper or unlawful exercise of any sympa- 
thies likely to lead to the infraction of its proper obligations to Spain 
and to other friendly powers. 

Having set the example of the most perfect laws of neutrality, both 
m theory and in practice, the government of the United States will 
continue to administer them in the utmost good faith and with vigor in 
every instance where it shall be duly informed of any threatened viola- 
tion of them. 



No. 56. 
Mr. Kail to Mr. Fish. 

^°- 33 -] Havana, April 22, 1869. 

During the past few days a number of decrees, many of them very 
lengthy, have been issued by the Captain General of the island, all in 
reference to, or tending to the confiscation of the property of such per- 
sons as are in any way connected with the insurrection, whether in the 
island or abroad. 

These decrees are published in the Official Gazette ; the most import- 
ant of them is dated 1st instant, but was published for the first time in 
the Gazette of the 16th instant. 
H. Ex. Doc. 160 6 



82 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

It is not improbable that this decree may be enforced retroactively to 
tlie prejudice of some of our own citizens, in view of which I herewith 
accompany a translation. 

****** 



[Translation.] 
SUPERIOR POLITICAL GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE OF CUBA. 

It is the duty of every government to provide for the security of the territory con- 
fided to its command. 

That of this province, attacked by an unjustifiable insurrection that is depopulating 
and ruining many of the rich districts of the island, makes indispensable the adoption 
of every efficient measure for annihilating the enemies of our nationality by depriving 
them of all the resources upon which they depend for sustaining their aggression. 

With this in view, and the possibility that sales of property may be effected for 
illicit ends, such sales (contratos) are declared, in conformity with our laws, to be null, 
and in use of the extraordinary and discretionary powers with wbich I am invested by 
the supreme government of the nation, I decree the following : 

Article 1. Contracts for the sale of immovable and semi-movable (slave) property, 
before going into effect, will from this date be presented to the government for revision. 

Art. 2. In compliance with this disposition, the contracts made in Havana will be 
presented to the secretary of the superior civil government, and those effected in other 
jurisdictions of the island, to governors and lieutenant governors. 

Art. 3. The presentations referred to will be made by the parties when the contract 
is a private one, and by the notary (escritano) when it becomes a public instrument ; 
and before it has been drawn up, in the first case, the original document will be pre- 
sented; in the second, the memorandum (or minutes) of the instrument. 

Art. 4. After the contract has been vizaed by the government it shall not be altered 
or modified in any manner without its (the government's) previous revision, under pen- 
alty of the nullity of the alteration in case of infraction. 

Art. 5. Sales of produce and other articles of commerce for exportation, as also the 
transfer of shares of corporations and societies, are also subject to the revision refer- 
red to. 

Art. 6. In the cases of sales, referred to in the last preceding article, through the 
medium of a broker, the latter will present the contract for revision in the mercantile 
form in which it is extended. If no broker intervenes, the presentation will be made 
by the contracting parties. 

Art. 7. The officers of corporations that are authorized by their respective regula- 
tions to authenticate transfers of stocks, will effect such transfers with the authoriza- 
tion of the government, and for this purpose they shall render an account of the trans- 
fers proposed by the parties interested, expressing in their communications directed to 
the government the names and residence of the contractors, and the number and value 
of the stocks to be transferred. 

Art. 8. In order not to embarrass in any manner the sales of real estate and semi- 
rnovable (slave) property, and still more mercantile transactions, the government will 
concede or refuse its approbation to the former within four days, and on the sales of 
produce within twenty-four hours from the presentation of the documents. 

Art. 9. All contracts for the sale of every description of property made without the 
revision of the government will be null, and private individuals, merchants, brokers, 
presidents and directors of corporations not complying Avith the stipidations of this 
decree will incur the penalties established by the penal code, comprehended in chapter 
5, title 8, of book 2. 

DOMINGO DULCE. 

Havana, April 1, 1869. 



No. 57. 

Mr. Fish to Mr. Lopez Roberts. 

Washington, April 30, 18G9. 
I am instructed by the President to inform you that this department 
has received from the United States consulate in Cuba a decree dated 
the first day of April current, and promulgated by the Captain General 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 8d 

of the island, on the 15th of this month, which virtually forbids the 
alienation of property in the island, except with the revision and assent 
of certain officials named in the decree, and which declares null and void 
all sales made without such revision and assent. 

In view of the intimate commercial relations between Cuba and the 
United States, and of the great amount of American property constantly 
invested there in commercial ventures, as well as in a more permanent 
form, the President views with regret such sweeping interference with 
the rights of individuals to alienate or dispose of their property, and he 
hopes that steps may be speedily taken to modify this decree so that it 
shall not be applicable to the property of citizens of the United States, 
and thus prevent disputes and complaints that cannot fail to arise if its 
execution is attempted as to such property. 



2To. 58. 

Mr. Hall to Mr. Fish. 

No. 37.] Havana, April 30, 1869. 

I have the honor to accompany herewith a translation of a document 
published yesterday in the "Diario de la Marina," of this city, as taken 
from the "Eedactor," of Santiago de Cuba, purporting to be a procla- 
mation of Count Yalmaseda to the inhabitants of that jurisdiction. . 

I have received a letter from the acting consular agent at Manzanillo, 
dated the 24th instant, from which I take the following extract : 

Since my last report of the 10th instant. I have to advise that Count de Valmaseda, 
since the 14th instant, has taken the offensive, and has sent from his encampment, near 
Bayamo, four different battalions to scout the country, pursuing the insurgents in the 
spirit of his proclamation of that date. 



[From the Diario de la Marina, April 29, 1869 — Translation.] 

The Redactor, (of St. Jago de Cuba,) in its number of 21st instant, publishes the fol- 
lowing inrportant proclamation of General Count Valmaseda : 

Inhabitants of the country! The re-enforcements of troops that I have been ■waiting 
for have arrived ; with them I shall give protection to the good, and punish promptly 
those that still remain in rebellion against the government of the metropolis. 

You know that I have pardoned those that have fought us with arms ; that your 
wives, mothers, and sisters have found in me the unexpected protection that you have 
refused them. You know, also, that many of those I have pardoned have turned against 
us again. 

Before such ingratitude, such villany, it is not possible for me to be the man that I 
have been ; there is no longer a place for a falsified neutrality ; he that is not for me is 
against me, and that my soldiers may know how to distinguish, you hear the order 
they carry : 

1st. Every man, from the age of fifteen years, upward, found away from his habita- 
tion, (tinea,) and does not prove a justified motive therefor, will be shot. 

2d. Every habitation unoccupied will be burned by the troops. 

3d. Every 'habitation from which does not float a white flag, as a signal that its occu- 
pants desire peace, will be reduced to ashes. 

Women that are not living at their own homes, or at the house of their relatives, will 
collect in the town of Jiguani, or Bayamo, where maintenance will be provided. Those 
who do not present themselves will be conducted forcibly. 

The foregoing determinations will commence to take effect on the 14th of the present 
month. 

EL CONDE DE VALMASEDA. 

Bayamo, April 4, 1869. 



84 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

No. 59. 

Mr. Fish to Mr. Lopez Roberts. 

Washington, May 10, 1869. - 
I have the honor to inclose a copy of a proclamation said to have been 
issued by General Count Valmaseda, in Cuba. 

In the interest of Christian civilization and common humanity, I hope 
that this document is a forgery. If it be indeed genuine, the President 
instructs me, in the most forcible manner, to protest against such a 
mode of warfare, and to ask you to request the Spanish authorities in 
Cuba to take such steps that no person having the right to claim the 
protection of the government of the United States shall be sacrificed or 
injured in the conduct of hostilities upon this basis. 

[For proclamation above referred to, see inclosure to dispatch No. 37, 
from Mr. Hall to Mr. Fish, April 30, 1869, ante.} ' 



No. 60. 



Mr. Fish to Mr. Rale. 
No. 158.] May 11, 1869. 

I inclose for your information a copy of a note to the Spanish minis- 
ter at Washington, dated April 3,* relative to a proclamation by the 
Captain General of Cuba, for the detention, search, and seizure of neu- 
tral vessels on the high seas. The British government have furnished 
us, through Mr. Eeverdy Johnson, with a copy of their instruction, by 
telegraph, to the British minister at Madrid, to protest against this 
proclamation. I am happy to be able to add that we have intelligence 
that the proclamation has been modified. 

######### 

I further inclose a copy of another note to Mr. Beberts, of the 10th 
instant, protesting against the infamous proclamation of General Count 
Valmaseda, of which a copy accompanies it. You will please make 
similar representations to the Spanish government. 

######### 



No. 61. 
Mr. Sail to Mr. Davis. 



No. 56.J Havana, May 18, 1869. 

I have the honor to accompany herewith a copy of a letter this day 
received from * * * *, Nuevitas. giving account of late military opera- 
tions in that vicinity. 



Mr. ****** to Mr. Hall. 

Neuvitas, May 14, 1869. 

The train arrived here on the 12th instant, having left Puerto Principe on the 9th. 
It was three days coming down a distance of forty-eight miles, guarded hy over two 
thousand troops. On their way to Puerto Principe they were thirteen days, the rebels 
harassing the column continually, and burning down the bridges ahead of the column. 

* See ante, No. 52. t See ante, No. 59. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 85 

At Alta Gracia the insurgents made a stand to dispute the passage of the troops, in which 
engagement the Spaniards had four officers and twenty soldiers killed, and forty 
wounded— among the officers killed, a lieutenant colonel. The whole line of the rail- 
road is occupied by troops to prevent the insurgents from damaging the road. 

The insurgents have established a government at Guaimare. Carlos Manuel Cespe- 
des is the president, Francisco Olguilera, vice-president, and General Manuel de Quesada 
general-m-chief, of all the rebel forces. They have formed a regular legislative body, 
and have passed an act to ask our government to admit them into the Union. I have 
been informed that documents to this effect have been forwarded to their so-named 
minister in the United States, Mr. Morales Lemus, to present them to our government. 

The Spaniards are full of hopes, thinking that the rebellion must soon succumb. 
But, on the other hand, the rebels are sanguine of success, always expecting aid from 
the United States. I do not see that the Spaniards gain more advantages than hereto- 
fore, holding what ground they occupy militarily, and nothing more. It is true that 
the railroad to Puerto Principe will give them the great advantage of supplying that 
city with provisions. But the whole line has to be guarded by troops, it taking three 
or four days to get the train through, a distance of only forty-eight miles. 



• No. 62. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 

^°- 15 -] Havana, May 28, 1869. 

As there may "be no more reliable means of obtaining an idea of the 
true situation of a country experiencing political disturbances than a' 
study of the measures adopted by the established government, in its 
endeavors to repress such movements, I beg to inclose to you herewith 
translations which I have caused to be made of two decrees of consid- 
erable importance, which have been published here within the past few 
days. 

The first, inclosure No. 1, is the official sanction by the home govern- 
ment at Madrid, under date of 27th ultimo, of an arrangement made by 
the Captain General of this island, in February last, with the. Spanish 
Bank of Havana, in connection with various Spanish capitalists of this 
city, for a credit to be drawn against, at pleasure, by the Captain Gen- 
eral, of eight millions of dollars, reimbursable to the bank from the 
proceeds of certain extraordinary war taxes and export duties imposed 
by the decree. 

This credit, I have heard, is now about exhausted, three months hav-. 
ing elapsed. What the amount realized toward its reimbursement has 
been, I am not informed. 

The principle set down in this measure, by the home government is, 
that the island must pay the expenses arising from its present situation. 

The second, inclosure No. 2, is a decree or circular order, issued on 
the 24th instant by Captain General Dulce, directing the seizure of all 
horses on the estates within a certain district, comprising the eastern 
portion of the western department, or half division of this island. 

The order is apparently designed both to deprive the insurgents of a ' 
resource they are now using, and to aid the Spanish forces to more 
rapid military movements. At the same time the measure would seem 
to bear hardly upon both loyal and disloyal estate owners alike. 



[Translation.] 
DEPARTMENT OF ULTRAMAR— DECREE. 



In view of the communication of the 24th of February last, in which the superior 
civil governor of the Island of Cuba gives account of the resolution which, in the char- 



8G STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

actor of provisional, lie issued by decree of the 22d of that month, and which appears 
published in the Gazette of Havana of the following day, establishing an export duty, 
an increase in the import duty, and another increase in industrial and commercial 
taxes, in order to meet the extraordinary expenses caused by the insurrection in the 
said island : 

In view of the decree referred to, issued at Havana, on the 22d of February last ; 

In view of the act of the meeting of contributors, held before the superior civil gov- 
ernor of the Island of Cuba, signed by Messrs. Juom Poey, Julian de Zulueta, Edwardo 
A. Mijares, the Marquez of Ciiuepo Florido, Marnesto Pulido, Eafael R. Forices, Juan A. 
Calome. Augustin Saavedra, Manuel de Armas, Jos6 E. Moret, J. M. Zaugroniz, Fran- 
cisco Talome, and Pedro Sotolongo, from which it appears that the opinion unanimously 
adopted was that of entering into an agreement with the Spanish Bank of Havana, 
by which the latter should loan to the government of the nation, and in its name to the 
superior civil governor of the island, the sum of eight millions of dollars, according as 
the same might be successively called for, in currency of the class which it at present 
has in circulation, to be reimbursed weekly with the proceeds of the increased duties 
before mentioned, the bank relinquishing interest or remuneration for the advance ; 

Considering the urgency of procuring resources for military operations, to which for 
the moment it is indispensable to resort for the re-establishment of peace in that prov- 
ince, is an imperative reason which should excuse the superior authority of the island 
from limitation to the rules established for proceedings of public interest under ordi- 
nary circumstances. Considering that it is of high and transcendent importance 
that the extraordinary expenses imposed by the present situation of the Island of Cuba 
shall not be raised entirely by an operation of credit, but that, on the contrary, they 
be covered by resources equally extraordinary, raised by the country itself ; 

Considering that similar motives of a peremptory and urgent character, as those 
which justify the proceeding of the superior civil authority of Cuba, excuse the omis- 
sion of consultations and formalities established by the legislation in force for affairs 
of this nature under normal circumstances; 

The executive power, in council of ministers, has thought proper to decree the follow- 
ing: 

Article 1. The project of agreement entered into between the Spanish Bank of Ha- 
vana and the committee of the industrial and commercial proprietors, to which the 
communication subscribed by the individuals composing the same, of the 12th of Feb- 
ruary last, refers, is approved, the bases of which are the following : 

1. The obligation or agreement on the part of the bank to deliver to the government 
of the nation, and in its name to the superior civil governor of the Island of Cuba, ac- 
cording as the same may be asked for, up to the sum of eight millions of dollars iu cur- 
rency of the class which the said institution has in circulation. 

2. The relinquishment on the part of the bank of all interest or remuneration on ac- 
count of the advance referred to, limiting itself to obtain from the government the re- 
imbursement of the expense occasioned by the different issues of bank bills which it 
may be fouud necessary to make on account of this negotiation, and the loss which may 
be caused to it by the reduction of its bills to the coin which may be asked from it by 
the treasury. 

3. For the reimbursement of the eight millions, and the other sums for which, under 
the foregoing basis, the government may become indebted, a temporary war tax shall 
be levied, which shall commence to be in force from the 1st of March of the present 
year, and will terminate precisely at the moment that said engagements shall have 
been covered. 

4. The proceeds of the said tax be paid weekly into the administration of the bank, 
and under no circumstances shall they be destined to any other attention or purpose. 

5. The bank is authorized to issue bills of ten and five dollars, in sufficient sums for 
the necessities of circulation, recommending at the same time to the classes represented 
by the acting committee, that they oblige themselves to receive the bills of the bank 
in all forms of payments. 

6. The restriction to ten dollars per person of daily exchange of bills for specie, in 
order to facilitate to the bank the issue of the new bills, indispensable in the present 
negotiations. 

Article 2. In accordance with the foregoing agreement, the decree of the superior 
civil governor of the said 22d of February is approved, by virtue of which from the 
1st of March last, the following extraordinary war taxes are imposed : 

1. An export duty to be exacted by all the custom-houses of the island, at the time 
of export for Spain or foreign ports, of fifty «ents on each box of sugar ; one dollar and 
two and a half cents on each hogshead of brown sugar; one dollar on each bale of leaf 
tobacco ; fifty cents per one thousand on manufactured cigars. 

2. An additional tax of five per cent, on the amount of the present import duties, 
which shall also be collected by the custom-houses. 

3. For one sole time during the present fiscal year, an additional tax of twenty-five 
per cent, on the quota for the treasury of the contributions on industry and commerce, 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 87 

excepting those contributors whose quotas are less than two hundred and fifty dollars 
per annum. 
Article 3. The minister of ultramar will issue the proper orders for the execution ot 

the present decree. . ._..,., 

* ADELARDO LOPEZ DE AGALA, 

i Minister of Ultramar. 

Madrid, April 27, 1869. 



[Translation.— Official.] 
SECTION FIRST— SUPERIOR POLITICAL GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE OF CUBA. 

[Circular.] 

Under date of the 14th instant his excellency the Captain General says to me what 
follows : 

Excellent Sir : Under this date I say to the commanders general of operations at 
Santa Clara and Sancti Spiritus, as follows : 

Excellent Sir : In order to take away from the insurgents the means of providing 
themselves with horses from the sugar estates, pasture grounds, and other farms in the 
country, whether delivered by owners who sympathize with their disreputable cause, 
or who may be forced to give them up from the natural fear that their properties may 
be burnt, I have thought proper to direct that your excellency order the military com- 
manders, chiefs of columns, to collect all serviceable horses aud mares which may be 
found upon all the farms that are not sufficiently guarded, in order to avoid their be- 
ing taken away by the insurgents. In the execution of this measure, details and lists 
should be made out with the just price of every animal that is to be delivered by the 
owners, or" may be gathered, leaving duplicate accounts, signed by the commissioners 
and attested by the chief of the column or the military commander, one of which must 
be kept by the chief, and the other remitted to the respective lieutenant governor. 
The horses will be used by the columns for baggage trains, spare ammunition, allow- 
ances, and equipments, and to mount the force so as to be able to go in pursuit of the 
insurgent parties in the same manner that they move, that is, mounted, and by this 
means the persecution will be more active, and will give the desired results. Your 
excellency will dictate the most decisive warning, so that this disposition may be ful- 
filled with the due formalities, in the understanding that whatever claim may be made 
of me for informalities in operation, I am disposed to demand of the chiefs the most 
rigid responsibility, without any complicity whatever, in a measure that affects so 
much property that must always be respected, and that only in the extreme circum- 
stances in which the island finds itself, and the destruction of the parties obliges me 
to take for the prompt pacification of the invaded territories. The horses which the 
columns do not require will be remitted to the headquarters in order that the lieuten- 
ant governors may keep them in a close and secure pasture ground at a place where 
warlike preparations are being made, or upon proprieties that are defended, which 
owners will make use of them, and to whom an account will be given of those which 
are delivered to them, brought forth from the general records in order that they may 
be responsible for them whenever claimed for. 

I give an account of this disposition to his excellency the superior political gover- 
nor, in order that he may, on his side, give the respective instructions to the lieu- 
tenant governors, giving them, also, his instructions, so that they may send a copy of 
the detailed and estimated lists to the proper authority, in which they will explain in 
a clear and distinct manner the destination given to each horse, so that the animal or 
its value may be claimed at any time from the person to whom it may be intrusted. 
The chief of the columns will remit to my authority the detailed and estimated list; of 
the horses which may remain at his charge from any source, with the name of the own- 
ers to whom, they belong, that of the farm^&c, in order to record the due responsibil- 
ity, having a special care to give information of the increase or decrease that may occur 
resulting from combats with the enemies, on the understanding that the surplus will 
have also the destination already mentioned, making out a list of those so seized. The 
decrease of those which happen to die or remain useless in the battle-field, should they 
not be replaced with those which are seized, will be claimed at the stations which are 
established, the commissioners of which will deliver them with the due formalities, 
under receipt, expressing the signs, estimate, value, owner, &c, in order to guide them- 
selves when they ar,e claimed for. All which I say to your excellency for your punc- 
tual accomplishment, expecting, from your careful observance, that you will take all 
such measures as to avoid the abuses, which, unfortunately, are very frequent in this 
sort of measure, which I am disposed to repress with strong arm, and which will second 
your proper dispositions, which I have the honor to transmit to your excellency for the 



88 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

effects expressed, doubting not that a measure of the kind will be secouded by your 
authority, tending to the prompt pacification of the island, in which all good Spaniards 
and the sensible persons of the couutry are interested ; which I transmit to your excel- 
lency for your knowledge and the most exact fulfillment in the post which concerns 
you, bearing in mind that I will demand the most strict responsibility from all whom 
it may concern, should the least abuse happen to be committed, or if for want of scru- 
pulousness or careful observance on the part of the functionaries to whom it may con- 
cern, to intervene in the collection or custody of the horses gathered and delivered, 
well-founded claims on the part of the proprietors should be occasioned. 

God preserve your excellency many years ! Havana, May 24, 1869. 

DOMINGO DULCE. 

To Lieutenant Governor 

Of Santa Clara. Oienfuegos. Kemidios, Trinidad, Sagua, Sancio Spritua, MaJon. 



No. 63. 

Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 

No. 20. J Havana, June 2, 18G9. 

Under pressure from tlie volunteers, General Dulce this morning 
resigned his command as Cax^tain General of this island in favor of the 
second in command, General Espinar, and leaves for Spain to-morrow. 



No. 64. 

Mr. Sail to Mr. Fish. 

No. 95.] Matanzas, June 3, 1869. 

The lawless example of the Havana volunteers in deposing General 
Dulce has been quickly followed by those of this place, who last night 
forcibly deposed Brigadier Lopez Pinto, duly appointed by the provis- 
ional government of Spain, as governor of this important jurisdiction. 
The governor incurred the enmity of these volunteers some weeks ago, 
in refusing to accede to their demand for the surrender of an individual 
named Manuel Despau, who had made himself conspicuous, as well as 
obnoxious to the volunteers on account of his insurgent proclivities, and 
was captured on board of a vessel in the harbor, when about leaving the 
island. 

No one outside of the volunteers pretends to doubt his being an 
efficient, intelligent, and humane officer, disposed to do justice to all in 
the exercise of his authority, and as far as I can learn, it would seem 
that aside from the affair above referred to, his only offense in his per- 
sonal friendship for General Dulce. 

At about nine o'clock last evening the volunteers began to collect in 
the square fronting the palace, evidently by preconcerted arrangement. 
At about two o'clock a committee, composed of the senior officers of the 
different battalions, called on the governor and demanded his resignation, 
which after some parleying and several communications passed between 
the committee and the corps of volunteers that were formed in the 
square, was acceded to by the governor, and the command surrendered 
to Colonel Domingo Leon, of the regular cavalry, and next in rank. 
The volunteers also demanded and obtained the displacement of the 
political secretary, Enriquez, and the chief of police; substituting others 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 89 

of their own selection. It appears to be a part of their programme to 
displace every Cuban holding any official j)osition whatever, as also 
every "peninsular" Spaniard whose family connections might lead him 
in any way to sympathize with the natives of Cuba. 

Nearly all of the municipal and many of the subordinate custom-house 
offices are held by Cubans. 

The Matanzas volunteers number about two thousand five hundred 
men. There are among them many persons of respectability and influ- 
ence, but in the ranks there are some of the worst elements of the Spanish 
(peninsular) part of the population — men of brutal and sanguinary 
instincts, that would, if left to themselves, riot in fire and blood. For- 
tunately, up to the present, the occurrences referred to have passed off 
quietly, save the insulting epithets and "nmeras" that were applied to 
the deposed officials bj the tumultuous volunteers. There is a wide 
belief that in some way General Lersundi is responsible for these demon- 
strations; that through him certain parties at Havana instigated the 
volunteers at that place to depose General Dulce, having previously 
attempted to force his resignation by thwarting every conciliatory meas- 
ure that he would have adopted. It is believed also that the movement 
initiated at Havana, and imitated here, will be repeated at other places 
of the island, until all the •principal positions are in the hands of his 
adherents; and, finally, that the movement is in the interest of Dona 
Isabel II, and favorable to her restoration to the Spanish throne. I refer 
to these as among the many rumors now circulating here, without 
vouching for their truth. 

As a natural consequence of these demonstrations, an unusual alarm 
prevails among the Cuban and foreign population of the place. Neverthe- 
less, I have the statements of influential Spaniards that it is unfounded, 
and that there will be no further disorderly demonstrations, but of this 
I am confident that they cannot give any assurance. 

Colonel Leon, the governor, is well known here, having discharged 
the duties of the same position, when vacancies have occurred at differ- 
ent periods during the past four or five years. His private character 
is unexceptionable, but it is to be doubted whether his influence with 
these volunteers would suffice to prevent excesses in emergencies 
requiring the exercise of strong authority, which are sure to arise. 



No. 65. 

Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 

No. 23.] Havana, June 4, 1869. 

On the 2d instant, a Captain General of Cuba was displaced from his 
command by the resident Spaniards of the island. This event, without 
precedent here, opens an epoch in the history of this Spanish possession. 
Some fifty years ago a similar event occurred in Mexico. An insurrection 
had been for some time in progress there, and either induced by the 
course of events at home, or from dissatisfaction at the conduct of the 
war, the resident Spaniards deposed the viceroy. A new viceroy 
was sent out, but arrived too late, and no other representative of the 
mother country ever succeeded to the place. The resident Spaniards 
there, as soon as they cut loose from entire obedience to the home author- 
ity, turned the scale in favor of independence. 



90 STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Their design was to control local affairs themselves, but they were 
soon swallowed up in the greater number of the Creole population. 

So here, an insurrection has been for some time in progress, commenced 
and sustained solely by the Creole population. The Spanish residents of 
the island, probably both from the effect of events at home and from dis- 
satisfaction at the conduct of the war, have been for some time, if I rightly 
judge, inclined to the idea of taking the management of affairs here, in 
the name of the mother country, more or less into their own hands. 
They are residents, identified to a great extent with the prosperity of the 
island, having their business and their property here, and, as the island 
has to pay its own expenses, contributing largely, many of them, to the 
burden of the support of the war, both by their money, and now by their 
time as volunteers. They desire to see the war ended, and to have the 
former tranquillity, upon which their prosperity depends, restored. 

They may believe, especially as liberal institutions are urged in Spain, 
that they have as full right and are as capable to manage the affairs of 
the island, of which they are the loyal residents, as officials without any 
local interests or responsibilities, sent out from home to make their fortunes 
from the public revenues, not in commerce and industry, here. Yet, until 
now, the resident Spaniards in business or having property here have 
had little more chance than the native Cubans' to participate in the gov- 
ernment of the island. All the offices, mainly, have been filled by fre- 
quently renewed officials, sent out for that purpose from Spain. The 
consequence has been that the public burdens are felt to be unnecessa- 
rily increased, and now the feeling has been engendered that the military 
operations against the insurrection have not been energetically conducted 
by those who, if they fail here, not having any identification with the 
island, simply return home to the mother country, leaving the Spanish 
residents to their fate, or, in some instances, it may be believed that these 
officials have been too lenient, or have inclined too much in favor of the 
insurrection, which, if it is successful, would place the control of the 
island in native Cuban rather than resident Spanish hands. 

At the same time there is an undercurrent of serious difference in the 
Spanish views. Some of the Spaniards resident here incline to the 
liberal reforms now proposed in Spain. Others cling to the old monar- 
chical institutions. Some, perhaps an influential party, would like to 
see Isabella or the Bourbon dynasty restored, and may dream of yet pre- 
senting her with the jewel of this rich possession; and the clerical influ- 
ence may have considerable weight. Yet there is, apparently, among 
the reflecting portion of the Spanish residents, a consciousness of the 
grave peril of any separation from the line of due recognition of the le- 
gitimate authority of the home government. 

Be all these considerations as they may, the rubicon has now been 
passed, and by a demonstration of the volunteers of this city on the 
night of the first instant, for which, however unpremeditated and unor- 
ganized it may have been, the Spanish residents are responsible, Cap- 
tain General Dulce, as is publicly and fully known, was forced at once 
to resign the command of this island, as the representative of the gov- 
ernment of Spain. 

By his resignation, signed on the morning of the 2d instant, he trans- 
ferred the command, not of his own free will, but at the demand of a 
committee of the officers of the volunteers, to the second in authority on 
the islaud ; and not because he was the second in the line of legitimate 
authority, or was more especially satisfactory to the volunteers or to 
Spanish sentiment, but because General Dulce, the representative of the 
home government, was not satisfactory, and to save appearances, and 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 91 

preserve, as far as possible, the line of legality, the second in command 
was mutually agreed upon. A little later, the officer so selected may 
be deemed unsatisfactory to the Spanish residents, or to their material 
expression in force, the volunteers, and may be in his turn set aside ; 
and so even a new Captain General sent out from Spain may be rejected. 
At the same time it should not be understood that in these steps the 
Spanish residents are in entire accord. They are, however, necessarily 
acquiescent, and have, as a body, to bear the responsibility. 

My predecessors have informed the department of the extension given 
by the recent Captain General Lersundi, the predecessor of General 
Dulce, after the present insurrection commenced, in the absence of suf- 
ficient troops from Spain, to an organization that had been in existence 
here since the time of the Lopez expedition, when it was originated to 
aid in the defense of the island, of local militia; called volunteers, com- 
posed of the Spanish residents of the island, who, coming to the island 
mainly as young men to seek their fortune by industry or commerce, 
furnish a larger proportion than usual of able-bodied, stalwart, and, 
after a little time, acclimated men. 

These organizations of local militia, perhaps confined heretofore to 
four or five regiments in this city, and one or three in some of the other 
principal towns of the island, have remained, since the motive of their 
creation at the time of the Lopez expedition passed, without special 
purpose or importance, and without power or other duty than that of 
occasional parade. 

When the present insurrection broke out, however, General Lersundi 
found himself obliged to confront it with but about five thousand regu- 
lar Spanish troops then on the island. He felt compelled, therefore, to 
call for assistance upon the loyal Spanish residents of the island. The 
existing volunteer organizations formed a convenient nucleus, which, by 
the creation of new regiments and the extension of the system generally 
to all the towns on the island, has now placed under arms, and in a 
condition for effective local service, a body of about ten thousand men 
in this city, and perhaps thirty thousand men altogether, upon the 
island, which can easily be increased in this city to a considerable 
extent. 

These volunteers, as I understand, have mainly furnished their own 
arms and uniforms, and serve, when on duty, without charge for their 
time. 

It was not originally understood that they were to go to the field, and 
they are reluctant to do so, but a few regiments from this city and other 
places have, however, been sent. 

As the regular troops that were here, and those that have since ar- 
rived from Spain — say twenty-five thousand in all, have been sent to the 
field, the militia or volunteers have taken their places in doing duty as 
guards in the fortresses of the Morro, the Cubanas, and others here, and 
at the palace. 

At the present time, beside a small regiment of cavalry, there are, as 
I understand, only some two or three, hundred regular troops in this city. 
Thus, for the power to enforce his authority in this city, and to a greater 
or less extent in the towns on the island, the Captain General, the rep- 
resentative of the government of Spain, has had to depend, not, as here- 
tofore, upon the military arm of Spain, represented by a body of regular 
troops, but upon the Spanish residents of the island, voluntarily organ- 
ized into local militia. 

Necessarily, in the haste and the need of the recent increase of this 
organization, it has become composed largely of a very different mate- 



92 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

rial from the elite of the young men among the Spanish residents, which 
made the organization in past times, it is said, similar in composition to 
some extent to tbe Seventh Eegiment of the city of New York. While 
the colonels of the volunteers are nearly all men of position and wealth, 
as are also many of the other officers and of the privates, there is also 
much of a reckless and turbulent element) over which the officers frankly 
confess they have but little control. 

The feeling among tbe volunteers is intensely Spanish, and there is 
great hatred and bitterness against the Cuban's. Until after General 
Lersundi left, at the beginning of January last, no demonstrations were 
made by the volunteers. The liberal policy at first inaugurated by his 
successor, General Dulce, however, greatly incensed them, and was verj. 
unsatisfactory to the Spanish residents generally. They believed only 
in severe measures against the Cubans, or the insurgents, which ?are con- 
sidered here as almost identical terms. The feeling of hatred extended 
also, it is said, to Americans, who were supposed to sympathize espe- 
cially with tbe insurrection. 

General Dulce is said to have believed that by making liberal propo- 
sitions, giving amnesty, and the adoption of liberal measures, he could 
induce the Cubans who had revolted to return to their allegiance. It 
is also said that he was informed by leading Cubans, that if he would 
concede the independence of the island they would unite cordially with 
the Spanish residents in its self government. But separation from the 
mother country General Dulce refused, and the Cubans, either not put- 
ting faith in the efficiency or probable continuance of the liberal reforms 
promised by the new government at Madrid, rejected entirely all the 
propositions he made to them. 

General Dulce then withdrew his proclamation of amnesty and entered 
upon the opposite course. But it has appeared that he has been unable 
fully to regain the confidence of the Spanish residents, and there has 
been much murmuring at his alleged clemency, and latterly, at what was 
charged as the inefficient prosecution of the war against the insurgents. 

My own opinion is, that General Dulce is entitled to great credit for 
the extent to which he has held out, in the face of great difficulties and 
of personal peril to himself, against the pressure upon him for the adop- 
tion of more sanguinary measures. 

, In January last, shortly after the arrival of General Dulce, while there 
were yet large numbers of Cubans, openly sympathizing with the insur- 
rection, still remaining in this city, tbe volunteers, on the occasion of 
some performance having the effect to excite partisan political passion 
on the side of tbe insurrection in one of tbe theaters here, on the second 
night of the performance made an indiscriminate attack upon the audi- 
ence in the theater, composed largely of Cubans, many of whom must 
have been armed, as some shots were returned by them, and a large 
number of revolvers, it is stated, were found thrown under the seats of 
the theater when the audience had been driven out. General Espinar, 
now named as Captain General, it is said, deserves credit for his en- 
ergy in terminating tbis demonstration. A few nights afterward, while 
the excitement still continued, the volunteers, who own their arms 
and carry them to their houses, collected in large numbers near the 
Louvre, a popular coffee-house, having a large open saloon on the 
ground floor, frequented in the evening by hundreds of people taking 
refreshments, and under the alleged provocation of a shot from the roof 
of the house, made an attack upon the place, firing indiscriminately into 
the crowd. Several lives were then lost, as on the previous occasion, 
and among them one American, who happened to be passing by. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 93 

Afterward, the same night, the volunteers sacked the house of Mr. 
Miguel Alclama, a wealthy Cuban, who was supposed to sympathize 
with the insurrection. Officers finally interfered and succeeded in quell- 
ing the disturbance. General Dulce, on this occasion, issued a procla- 
mation, severely reproving the volunteers for their conduct, but I have 
not heard that any due punishment has been meted out. 

Some time afterward, on the occasion of the execution of two insur- 
gents, cries in favor of the insurrectionary leaders by one of them led to 
instantaneous firing upon him and upon the crowd present by the guard 
of volunteers, and a number of persons were killed. 

On another occasion, upon the occurrence of a sudden excitement, 
shops were hastily fired by armed volunteers and several lives were 
sacrificed. 

At an early period this insubordination also found expression in cries 
from bodies of the volunteers, in front of the palace, of death to the 
Captain General, and the feeling that, in the absence of regular troops, 
the reins of control over the volunteer force were entirely lost by Gen- 
eral Dulce, has caused wide-spread anxiety, it is said, even among the 
Spanish residents themselves. 

When a large number of prominent Cubans and supposed sympathizers 
with the insurrection, who had been arrested by the Captain Gen- 
eral, and had been held for some /time in confinement in the Cabanas 
fortress, were about to be sent to Fernando Po, General Dulce found 
great difficulty in effecting their departure, from the opposition of the 
volunteers, who demanded more general executions. As the volunteers 
have to be relied upon to perform guard duty at this as well as the 
other fortresses, it required great delay and management, as well as 
mucli resolution, to effect the extrication of these prisoners and their 
safe embarcation, as is currently reported. 

Similar difficulties have been met with in effecting the release of other 
prisoners from time to time, and on several such occasions the volun- 
teers have given expression to their dissatisfaction by cries afterward, 
when being dismissed in front of the palace, of death to the Captain 
General. 

Eecently, since my arrival here, such demonstrations have been re- 
peated. On Sunday morning, the 23d ultimo, according to public re- 
port, after the sailing of the Spanish steam frigate Carmen for Spain, 
having on board the Cuban prisoners captured on the English vessel, 
the Galvanic, was known, some companies of volunteers, on being dis- 
missed in front of the Captain General's palace, after serving on guard 
duty during the night at the Cabanas where' the prisoners had been 
confined, gave way to their insubordinate demonstrations by crying 
death to the Captain General, and on being remonstrated with by their 
colonel, crying death to him. These prisoners, who were sent to Spain 
to serve out their sentence there, it is taken, were taken from the fort- 
ress in the night and with great difficulty. 

It appears to be considered here that sending a prisoner to Spain is 
equivalent to his early release, and this is objected to by the volunteers, 
who have demanded executions instead. 

In this instance, again, General Dulce acted humanely, at apparently 
great personal risk to himself. 

On the evening of the 31st ultimo, numbers of volunteers collected in 
front of the hotel where he was supposed to be stopping, and gave vent 
to cries against him, which, on not finding him, they repeated in front 
of the palace, charging him with being a traitor and'demanding that he 



94 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

be given up to them. The small regular cavalry patrol was at once 
placed ou duty, and further disturbance for that night prevented. 

The following day, however, it now appears, the excitement among 
the volunteers increased, and in the evening they commenced assem- 
bling, in large numbers, in the part of the city outside the walls. Here 
the larger portion of the force remained, while detachments proceeded 
to the palace, the custom house, and other points, which latter remained 
occupied at daybreak. 

The gathering and the excitement produced its work, and the cries 
now turned against the Captain General. The latter had meanwhile 
placed on guard at the palace the little body of some two hundred reg- 
ulars, which, with the small cavalry force, was all he had to depend 
upon, and even these it appears, according to the accounts, refused to 
obey his orders when he instructed their colonel, as it is said, to fire 
upon the volunteers. 

I am informed that all in the palace passed a sleepless night amidst 
the greatest alarm and excitement. A collision was only averted, it 
would appear, by the smallness of the regular force, and the refusal of 
their officers to fire upon the volunteers. During the night or early in 
the morning the action of the volunteers rose with their opportunity 
and took the form of demanding the immediate relinquishment by Gen- 
eral Dulce of his command as Captain General, and his instant depart- 
ure for Spain. 

Eeports add that a committee was formed composed of a number of 
the colouels and other officers of the volunteers, of which the captain? 
were the organ, who w T aited upon the Captain General and presentee, 
their ultimatum. The struggle of the night was as to whether this de- 
mand be acceded to or not. It was necessarily ended but one way, 
and early in the morning General Dulce signed his resignation as Cap- 
tain General in favor of the second in command, General Espinar, desig- 
nated, it is stated, not from any special preference for him on the part 
of the volunteers, but from the desire of both parties to preserve, as far 
as possible the forms of legality. 

About ten o'clock in the morning the result was announced to the 
companies of volunteers about the palace, who gave cheers and then 
quietly dispersed to their homes, the usual company resuming duty at 
the palace, as if nothing had happened, 

The news was also communicated to the volunteers formed outside, 
who were then dismissed, and the city by noon presented no evidence 
that any event of more than usual importance had occurred. 

Fortunately, so far as I have learned, not a single shot was fired, nor 
any act of personal violence committed. The odds were so overwhelm- 
ing that a collision would have been madness. The naval force at hand 
could not have been resorted to except under the certainty of vastly 
complicating the situation for the Spanish interest, and it is stated on 
very good authority that the sailors on the Spanish men-of-war in port, 
who are frequently on shore, as also a considerable portion of the Span- 
ish regular troops on the island, fraternize to such an extent with the 
volunteers as to render their services against them entirely unavailable. 

At the same time I am informed that all of the colonels of the volun- 
teers opposed the proceedings against General Dulce, but were obliged 
to yield to their men. 

The foregoing, so far as I have gathered from the sources of informa- 
tion at my command, are the facts regarding the change that has taken 
place in the command of this island. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 95 

In the afternoon of the 2d there appeared in the Gazette the official 
notice of General Dulce's transfer of the command to General Espinar, 
which I have inclosed with my despatch No. 22. 

On its face, General Dulce having power to so transfer his command, 
the transfer appears legal; but the facts are as I have stated, and in 
their light the importance of the event, in its effect upon the destinies 
of the island, can hardly be overestimated. 

My own impression is, that the action *>f the volunteers in extorting 
the immediate resignation of General Dulce was not altogether premed- 
itated ; but there are many evidences of serious differences in the Span- 
ish councils here, and there are doubtless influences opposed to the 
present order in Spain which are actively at work, as well as, on the 
other hand, some secretly favorable to the cause of the insurrection. 

To the latter the event of the 2d is, even by some of the resident Span- 
iards, I am informed, admitted to be a great moral gain. They— the 
insurgents— rebel against all control of the mother country. The act 
of the 2d by the volunteers was the setting aside of a portion of the 
authority of the home government. The difference is not in kind, but 
in degree. 

The tendency now must be to entire severance, on the part of the 
Spanish resident force, from the authority of the government at Madrid. 
Whether this may be with the object of favoring the restoration of the 
Bourbon dynasty in Spain, or simply for the purpose of local self-con- 
trol, to secure the direction of affairs here in the hands of the Spanish 
resident population, the effect cannot but be to render the probability 
of the restoration of security and tranquillity on this island more remote. 



No. 66. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 

No. 49.] Havana, June 24, 1869. 

I beg to transmit to you herewith copy of a letter, under date of the 
18th instant, which reached me yesterday from Mr. E. A. Phillips, acting 
United States consul at Santiago de Cuba, giving information of the 
summary execution at that place of a citizen of the United States. 

The circumstances of the case, as also the situation of affairs at that 

place, are so graphically described in Mr. Phillips's letter, that it is not 

desirable I should attempt to recapitulate them here. I await such 

instructions as you may deem it necessary to give me in the premises. 

# # # #■■'.# ## * * 



Mr. Phillips to Mr. Plumh. 

Saktiago de Cuba, June 18, 1869. 
I have the honor to inform you that a few days since the American schooner Grape 
Shot, from New York, landed men and munitions at Baitiquiri, near Guantanamo, and 
after a few days had an encounter with the Spanish troops; the Cubans, after sustain- 
ing themselves three hours, lost their commander, George Smith, a citizen of the United 
States, and retired into the interior, leaving a few Americans to the mercy of the Spanish 
troops. On Tuesday, the 13th, the English vice-consul sent me a note stating that an 
American prisoner had just passed his consulate for the city prison, and in a few 
minutes I received a dispatch from the governor, notifying me of the same. I immedi- 



96 STEUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

ately called upon this authority, Avho gave me a pass to the prison, where I could have 
a public or private interview with the prisoner. I called the fiscal (attorney general) 
and a captain of the volunteers, who understood English perfectly, and under oath to 
me made this declaration ; he being unable to write from having had his arms so long 
pinioned as to have a partial paralysis of his hands. Stated that he was a native of 
Aurora. Indiana, being married and having a child four years of age. Left New York 
harbor in the schooner Grape Shot ; signed the articles as a sailor, for Falmouth, Ja- 
maica, in good faith, knowing uothing of the nature of the voyage save its legitimate 
object. After anchoring in the lower bay of New York, waiting for a tug to tow her to 
sea, which arrived at midnight, bringing some fifty armed Cubans, with a good supply 
of munitions of war, objected to continue the voyage, and desired to return to the city 
in the tug ; the captain assured him that althougtUie had taken the Cubans, he would 
not risk his vessel to run the Spanish blockade, but would proceed to Falmouth, land 
the men, aud go for a cargo of cocoamvts. When off Cape Maysi, the Cubans took pos- 
session of the vessel, changed her course, run her inland and discharged. 

He insisted upon continuing the voyage, but haviug had some difficulty with the 
captain, was left on shore under threat of "shooting him if he attempted any resistance. 
After the subsequent engagement, in which he tookno part, not being armed, he sought 
some place of safety, and finding two unarmed men, gave himself up and requested to be 
sent to the American consul; was bound and brought here, and, without judge or jury, 
sentenced to be shot on the following morning; protested against executioners, and de- 
clared that the vessel's register and mate's log-book would prove his capacity on board, 
and other evidence that he could procure from Jamaica would guarantee his innocence. 

This declaration I read in English, and made a verbal translation to the fiscal, who 
had pronounced the sentence of death upon him. I immediately sent a copy to the 
governor, being 10 o'clock p. in., praying for a respite for a few days in order to procure 
proofs from Jamaica, and requested an immediate reply. I waited nearly all night in 
the office and received no reply. Early in the morning I visited him again and found 
the prisoner surrounded by the guards formed for his execution ; he appeared calm and 
assured me he had no fear to die, and again assured me, as a dying nian, of his innocence, 
and only begged for a day or two to furnish proofs. At that moment the Euglish vice- 
consul kindly came in and offered to go with me to the governor. We found him still 
in bed ; stated the urgency of the case, and asked in the name of mercy and of our 
countries for a respite, and assured him that the German man-of-war now lying in 
port Avould take the letter over. The governor seemed disposed to grant this request, 
but informed us of his superior instructions, and in order to wash his hands of the blood 
(in our opinion) of an innocent man, and had the debility to inform us of his impotence 
as the chief magistrate of this city. My troops will not obey ; dissension prevails in 
the army ; General Buceta, commanding officer of the forces, is a fugitive on board of a 
Spanish man-of-war; the Catalans, a few nights since, attempted to assassinate him, 
under the pretense of a serenade. General Camara was next selected, who, hearing of 
the plot, secreted soldiers in his house, which frustrated their plan. His death would 
'have been the signal for a general uprising of the Catalans, and of sackiug, plunder, 
and massacre of the Cubans. • 

Finding all hopes gone we retired, and in our exit met the governor's aide-de-camp, 
with whom we had some conversation ; he assured us that anarchy prevailed ; the mob 
rules ; the governor is impotent and fears a counter-revolution. So the man was ex- 
ecuted, leaving a letter for his wife and child, showing himself to be a man of good and 
fair education, proclaiming his innocence, and instructing her to sue the owners of the 
vessel for damages, having left her penniless. The English vice-consul writes the par- 
ticulars to his consul general, and asks immediately for a man-of-war to protect him- 
self and archives, as he sees the impending danger. 

Such is the state of affairs at this place, and I have undeniable proofs that this place 
will be the theater of action, and in such cases you very well know that this consulate 
aud the American citizens here will be left without protection, and the American flag 
dishonored, unless steps are taken to have a vessel of war in port, which I deem of the 
utmost importance. Had there been one, Speakman would not have been shot and 
hurled into eternity, and his mutilated remains dumped from an offal cart like an 
animal, at the so-called cemetery. 

I send to-day, to the Secretary of State, an account of the proceedings, and also a 
copy of the letter of the deceased to his wife, which is painful to read, and hope such 
outrages will not be permitted to continue, and a suitable protection guaranteed to all 
citizens of the United States at this place. 

The English vice-consul informs me that his letters have been opened. I inform you 
of this fact in order that your reply may come safe. 



STKUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 97 

No. 67. 
Mr. Phillips to Mr. Fish. 

Santiago de Cuba, June 19, 1869. 

I have the honor to inform you of the existing state of affairs in this 
city. A few days since two naturalized American citizens and a native 
of New Orleans, who formed part of the expedition on board of the 
steamer Peritt, were taken prisoners at Banion, brought to this city, 
and within twelve hours, without any trial, publicly shot. 

As I did not receive any communication from the authorities, and 
hearing the fact but too late, I requested the governor to inform in future 
cases, and allow me to visit the prisoners, in order to ascertain if they 
have just causes for such proceedings. 

I received in due time a favorable and courteous reply. 

Wednesday evening, June 16, the governor sent a note informing me 
that an American citizen had been brought in, taken prisoner at Baiti- 
quiri, and forming part of the expedition which the American schooner 
Grape Shot had landed on the coast of Cuba, would, according to the 
laws of the nation, be shot as a pirate on the following morning at 9 
o'clock. 

Wishing to investigate his case I immediately called upon the gover- 
nor and requested a pass for the prison, where I repaired, and in the' 
presence of the fiscal, (attorney general,) and a captain of the volunteers, 
took down in writing the inclosed declaration made by prisoner. 

On my return to the consulate I sent a copy to his excellency the gov- 
ernor, praying that before sentence of death be pronounced upon him to 
grant a respite of a few days in order to procure evidence of his inno- 
cence, and after waiting at the office nearly all night I received no reply. 

Upon the following morning I again visited the prisoner, who was 
making an effort to write a farewell letter to his wife, which copy I have 
also the honor of inclosing, it being a true one. I assured hiin that all 
my efforts had been useless ; he again protested against his execution, 
and begged for only a few days to furnish satisfactory proofs. At that 
moment the English vice-consul came in to offer his services in the mat- 
ter, and proposed our calling on the governor ; we did so, and owing to 
the early hour were admitted to his bedside, and used all endeavors to 
stay the proceeding, assuring him that we would request the captain of 
a Prussian man-of-war, now lying in port, to take over to Falmouth a 
letter from the prisoner. Our efforts were useless. His excellency gave 
us to understand that he was impotent in his position ; dissension had 
broken out in the army, his troops reluctantly obeyed his orders, and 
had no confidence in his officers, and feared a counter-revolution, and 
was compelled to appease the wrath of the Catalans for his own safety. 
He further says that the commanding officer, General Buceta, was a fu- 
gitive on board of a Spanish man-of-Avar, for attempts had been made 
to assassinate him. 

After our exit we met his excellency's aide-de-camp, who assured us. 
that perfect anarchy prevailed; that another attempt had been made to 
assassinate, but this time it was General Camara who was to be the vic- 
tim. In order to hide their traitorous intentions they went with music, 
under the pretense of serenading him. Their plot was frustrated, for 
the general, on hearing of it, stationed soldiers about his house. I have- 
no doubt that it was a prudent measure, because under existing state of 
affairs a single shot would have been followed by a general plunder, mas- 
sacre, and sacking of the defenceless inhabitants of this city. 
H. Ex. Doc. 160 7 



98 STEUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

The Spanish government, regarding the patriots of this unhappy 
country as rebels and traitors, apply the most rigorous and barbarous 
laws; that is the reason why this has become a war of extermination, 
which is shocking to every civilized nation. What seems more strange 
is that Spain having awakened from the lethargy in which her ignorant 
institutions and despotic kings had prostrated her, when they proclaim 
a liberal constitution, when they abolish capital punish inent, and par- 
don the true rebels of Malaga and Cadiz, and the assassins of the gov- 
ernor of Burgos, they should grant the just demands of the Cuban people, 
which are ouly those granted to all civilized nations. 

The country is in complete anarchy; the Catalonian volunteers do not 
allow the governor to render justice, and he cannot publicly resist them, 
as he has seen in the case of the unfortunate Speakman, as well as in other 
cases which have occurred in this jurisdiction. We cannot enjoy personal 
safety here until some foreign power interferes, and know no other who can 
have more influence here than the United States, whose citizens have 
much commercial interest on this island. I therefore consider it not only 
necessary but urgent that some vessel of war at this moment be stationed 
in this port to protect the archives of this consulate, and the lives and 
property of the American citizens in case that the republican patriots 
should come near the city, and have good reason to believe that they 
are preparing to do so, owing to their ranks being daily increased and 
becoming more disciplined, while desertion and sickness prevail in the 
Spanish army. 

From my long residence in the island, and a thorough knowledge of 
the language and people, I am persuaded that in case of a conflict the 
archives of this consulate would fall into the hands of the Spanish vol- 
unteers unless means are taken to prevent. Under the existing state of 
political affairs I hope that some vessel of war may be sent to calm the 
anxiety of the American citizens residing here. 



Declaration, under oath, of Charles Speakman, at the prison of Santiago de Cuba, Wednesday, 

June 16, at 9 o'clock p. m. 

United States Consulate, 

Santiago de Cuba, June 17, 1869. 

I, the undersigned, acting consul of the United States at this city, having heen per- 
mitted hy the civil governor to visit the above named prisoner at the city prison, and 
requested him to make a statement of his case in writing, replied that owing to his 
arms having been pinioned he could not write, and being sentenced to be shot on the 
following morning, at 9 o'clock, in the presence of Capiain Francis O'Callaghan (of 
the volunteer corps) made the following declaration : 

I, Charles Speakman, of the town of Aurora, State of Indiana, lately resident of 
Florida, thirty-three years of age, having a wife and child, the latter four years of age, 
left New York harbor on the last of April, on board of the American schooner Grape 
Shot, in capacity of sailor, bound, as stated in ship's register, for Falmouth, Jamaica. 
After dropping anchor at the lower bay, during the night a steam-tug came alongside 
and put on board of said schooner fifty armed Cubans; suspecting the object of the 
voyage to be an expedition for Cuba, protested, and requested the captain to be sent 
ashore, who assured me that he should not touch on the coast of Cuba, but land the 
men at Jamaica, and that the vessel would proceed for a cargo of cocoanuts ; when off 
Cape Maysi, (eastern end of Cuba,) the captain keeping on his course, the Cubans took 
possession of the vessel, changed her course, and landed their men and her cargo at 
Bailiquiri, near Guautanaino ; was compelled to assist in the landing, and when the 
captain went on board, refused to take me, under threat of shooting if I stepped into 
the boat. Being compelled to remain, I sauntered about the beach ; a short time after 
they were attacked by the Spanish troops, and after a short encounter they retreated 
to the interior. Finding myself alone, sought a place of safety for the purpose of sur- 
rendering my person to the authorities, and being without arms for personal defense, 



STKUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 99 

found a rifle on the road, left by some fallen Cuban, took possession of the same, and 
npon meeting two unarmed men gave myself up, and in no case used the arms against 
the government, having never fired a single shot. Previous to the shipping I knew 
nothing of the expedition, nor did I receive any compensation, more than that of an or- 
dinary seaman's wages. I have prayed for a respite to prove my innocence, which several 
prisoners before being shot declared and certified to, and offered to procure evidence by 
the vessel's log-book and by statements made at the custom-house at Jamaica. Hav- 
ing no fear of death, I still find it hard to die innocent, and do solemnly protest against 
my executioners ; and I have demanded an opportunity to prove my innocence, having 
since my captivity had no time or chance to substantiate preceding facts. 

Sworn to before me, in the presence of attorney general and Captain Francis 
O'Callaghan. 

A. E. PHILLIPS, 

Acting U. S. Consul. 



Santiago de Cuba, June 17, 1869. 

My Dear Wife and Child : These are the last lines you will ever receive from me. 
In four hours lam to be shot, having been captured by the Spaniards on the Island of 
Cuba, where the vessel ran instead of going to Falmouth, Jamaica, where I shipped to 
go. Now, Maggie, I have no money to leave you, and I am so sorry, darling, as I leave 
you penniless ; but you may get some by getting a good lawyer to sue the owners of 
the vessel for damages; they have taken my life and deprived you of my support, and 
ought to" support you. 

There will be a statement sent to the government that he can see ; there is also, I 
have been told, a contract in New York to land these men in Cuba, and if he can get 
hold of it, you can get big damages from them. The vessel's name was the Grape 
Shot, schooner, of New York ; the owners' names are Heiiry Wall, a surveyor of New 
York, one Highdecker, a broker in the same place ; one Slowmaker, a liquor dealer ; all 
this can be found out in the New York custom-house. You "can get a good deal of 
money if you get the right kind of a man to take hold of it, and enough to keep you 
for life. The time is getting short, darling, and if I could only see you and baby 
once more I could die happy. I have always loved you, darling, whatever you may 
think to the contrary ; God knows it is true. For you and only you I have tried to get 
along and make you a good living. You have always been a good and true wife to me, 
and, darling, do forgive all the trouble I have ever given you, and meet me in heaven. 
Tell Smith that he must let you have some money to help you along ; tell him, as a 
dying brother, I entreat him to take care of you and my little boy. I have one kind 
.friend here, a Mr. O'Callaghan. Darling, I canno twrite more; my hand is sore. Tell 
cousin Fannie and Aunt Olden. May God Almighty bless you and keep you and babv, 
is my last and only prayer. 

Tell baby his father's last prayer to him is, that he never drinks one drop, and be 
good to his mother. 

After I am dead, Mr. O'Callaghan will cut a lock of my hair, and my handkerchief, 
and send it to you. 

Good-by, darling ; I command you to sue the owners ; call a witness, one Wm. Craig, 
of Oliver street, New York, who was on the vessel with me. 

God bless you. 

Your affectionate and dying husband, 

,, ,, „ „ CHAS. SPEAKMAN. 

Mrs. Maggie C. Speakman, 

Care of Captain J. W. Weaver, Aurora, Indiana, U. S. 



No. 68. 
Mr. Phillips to Mr. Fish. 



Santiago de Cuba, June 25, 1869. 
I have the honor to inform you that per Spanish steamer Dulce, which 
left this port for Philadelphia, I sent you a full account of the state of 
affairs at this city, and of the execution of Charles Speakman, which no 
doubt will have come to hand before you receive this. It is painful for 
me to inform you that on the 21st instant, at 9 o'clock a. m., Mr. Albert 



100 STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Wye tli, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, lately residing at No. 21 Clin- 
ton Place, New York, and an operator at the telegraph office No. 145 
Broadway, was also publicly shot, under such peculiar circumstances I 
feel it my duty to inform you of the facts. Being notified by the gov- 
ernor of his arrest and sentence to be shot, I repaired immediately to 
the city prison, where he made the declaration, a copy of which I have 
the honor to forward ; also a certificate attesting the innocence of Mr. 
Speaknian. The originals are on file at this office, corroborating my 
opinion respecting the same. After assuring the former that I would use 
all endeavors to save his life, I called upon the governor, the clergy, and 
some of the most influential citizens of this city, whose united efforts 
were unavailable. 

The Catalans are so sanguine in their disposition that they could not 
in any way be prevailed upon to allow the governor to pardon the unfor- 
tunate victims of the Cuban revolution. It was truly painful, owing to 
his extreme youth, being but twenty years of age ; his social position 
and fine education, being an invalid who sought a congenial climate and 
in no way (as represented) being privy to the nature of the expedition. 

The arbitrary way in which the authorities treat those who are taken 
or give themselves up, owing to the manner in which they have been 
deceived by the revolutionary junta in the United States, are without 
parallel in history, and in view of the efforts I have used to procure a 
pardon in peculiar cases of this nature, has led to an order being issued 
that no more prisoners be brought to this city, but to shoot them with- 
out any form of trial or examination. Being convinced by the news that 
is in daily circulation that the patriots purpose an attack upon this city 
sooner or later, I fear very much that very little attention will be paid 
to the lives or property of the American citizens residing here, nor will 
a due respect be paid to the flag of this consulate, unless some protection 
be given by the presence of a man-of-war at this port, which is the most 
earnest wish of your most obedient servant. 

P. S. — I inclose a copy of the morning papers, (Spanish organ,) contain- 
ing a letter addressed to Charles S. Olden, esq., and signed by Francis 
O'Callaghan, and for want of time before the mail closes I do not send 
a translation. You will perceive that the authorities, conscious of the 
iniquity which they have committed in sending into eternity an honor- 
able and innocent man, who protested against his executioners and de- 
manded in the name of mercy an opportunity to send to Jamaica, assur- 
ing me of his innocence, without avail. It has been made to appear 
that the protest was made against the owners of the Grape Shot, yet I 
admit that he said "If he must die, the Cuban junta ought to take care 
of his wife and child, who were left penniless." 

I have been called upon by a Spanish priest, a tool of the government, 
supplicating me to take no steps upon the matter, being better that our 
government knew nothing about it, and to allow the widow to remain 
in ignorance. 

The Spanish press have made a good story for themselves, and is far 
from the facts of the case. I shall keep the department informed of the 
passing events as they appear, and shall send with quarterly reports, 
ending June 30, a full account of the political state of affairs at the east- 
ern department. 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 101 

Mr. Wyeth to Mr. Phillips. 

Santiago de Cuba, June 20, 1869. 
I, Albert Wyeth, citizen of the State of Pennsylvania, being out of health, left Hun 
ter's Point, Long Island, in the State of New York, United States of North America, 
in the schooner Grape Shot, for a voyage to Falmouth, island of Jamaica, whither 
a certain Mr. Antonio A. Jimenez offered to take me free of charge. The schooner 
Grape Shot touched at Turk's Island, and after leaving that point they declared they 
were going to Cuba, when I energetically protested against taking part in the enter- 
prise, and was told that if I attempted to desert them they would shoot me. I was 
forced to land with the rest on the Island of Cuba, under fear of death, and compelled 
to take arms on landing, which arms I threw away as soon as I could do so, without 
having used them at all, and presented myself in San Antonio to the Spanish authori- 
ties there. The above I have written of my own free will and accord, under no influ- 
ence whatever, and is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth : so help 
me God. 



Mr. Wyeth to Mr. Phillips. 

Santiago de Cuba, June 20, 1869. 
_ I, Albert Wyeth, certify that Charles Speakman, whom I learn has been shot in this 
city, was a sailor on board the schooner Grape Shot, bound from New York to Falmouth, 
in Jamaica, on which vessel I was a passenger, and to my knowledge was compelled to 
leave the vessel when it reached the island, by the captain, with whom he had a diffi- 
culty, under penalty of death if he remained on board, and was of his own accord in 
no way connected with the expedition. 



£To. 69. 

Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 

No. 57.] Havana, June 29, 1866. 

With my dispatch No. 49, 1 transmitted to you a copy of a letter from 
Mr. Phillips, late acting United States consul at Santiago de Cuba, giving 
an account of the summary execution of a citizen of the United States, 
one of the unfortunate victims of the Grape Shot expedition. 

I have now to transmit herewith a further letter from Mr. Phillips, 
dated the 23d instant, received yesterday, in which he reports the exe- 
cution at that place of another citizen of the United States, Albert 
Wyeth, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, taken prisoner with others of 
the expedition of the schooner Grape Shot. 

Evidence given by Wyeth appears to confirm the statements made by 
the previous victim, Charles Speakman. 

I beg to call your attention to the situation of affairs at Santiago de 
Cuba, as represented by Mr. Phillips, and to the request for instructions 
made at the close of his letter. 



[Inclosure.] 
Mr. Phillips to Mr. Plumb. 

Santiago de Cuba, June 23, 1867. 

I have the honor of informing you that I have forwarded to your address a letter 
bearing date 18th instant, manifesting the state of affairs at this city and giving you 
an account of the fate of the American citizen, Charles Speakman. Since which I have 
been under the painful duty of recording the unfortunate end of another American, 
whose declaration before me at the city prison is most painful. 

Deposed, that being out of health, was invited by one Gimenz (who subsequently 



102 STKUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

proved to be the originator of the Grape Shot expedition) to go to Falmouth, Jamaica, 
for the benefit of his health, aud offered a passage free of expense; nothing occurred on 
the voyage to indicate its true object until they reached Turks' Island, where they 
declared their intentions, upon which the deceased protested energetically, and was 
informed that any desertion upon landing would be punished by death. Being com- 
pelled to laud with arms and enter into service, he did so, but separated upon the first 
encounter, threw away his arms and presented himself to the Spanish authorities, who 
brought him to this city, and was shot without trial in company with five others. 

The deceased deposed that he belonged to a very respectable' and influential family 
at Chainbersburg, Pennsylvania, and had been residing at 24 Clinton Place, New York, 
and an operator in the telegraph office, No. 145 Broadway. 

After taking his deposition, I made every effort to save him, first by calling upon the 
governor and manifesting his extreme youth, being only twenty years of age^ his social 
position, the circumstances in which he had been inveigled into the expedition, but to 
no purpose. I then brought the influence of the clergy and officers of the Catalauian 
volunteers, (the dread of the local authorities,) but could not save him. Also deposed, 
that Charles Speakman, to his knowledge, was in no way connected with the expedition, 
but forced to land under threat of being shot by the captain of the schooner, with whom 
he had some difficulty on the passage. 

This corroborates my former opinion respecting Speakman's innocence. The Spanish 
government treating the patriots of this unhappy vicinity as rebels and traitors, apply 
the most vigorous aud barbarous laws, and this applies both to Cubans and foreigners. 

The mutilated remains, after being shot, are carted off in an offal cart to the so-called 
cemetery, and dumped into ditches like so many beasts, while those shot in combat are 
left to fester in the sun, a prey to the carrion birds and clogs. lam persuaded, from facts 
gathered from reliable sources, that preparations are being made for an attack, sooner 
or later, upon this city by the rebels. From the knowledge I have of the Catalanian 
volunteers, I fear that the archives of this consulate and the lives and property of the 
Americans residing here would fall a prey to the infuriated mob, unless some measures 
be taken to prevent it, by the presence of some naval force at this port, and unless 
some protection be given to me from our government, I do not feel disposed to continue 
in the capacity of acting consul, to be the laughing-stock of the community at large, 
having no power to interfere in such cases as those mentioned, whose lives could have 
been saved by the presence of a man-of-war in this port, or at least facilities would 
have been offered them to prove their innocence. 

I have been informed by the officers of the Spanish government, that in future cases, 
owing to the active measures which I have taken in behalf of my countrymen, and to 
prevent them making any declaration, it is their determination to shoot all American 
prisoners immediately on the spot, in order that I may be prevented from communi- 
cating with them. 

I hope, sir, you will represent these facts to Admiral Hoff, and manifest to him the 
necessity of looking in upon us, at least occasionally, in order to quiet the anxiety of 
our countrymen. 

I shall also transmit to the department a copy of the proceedings, stated by the 
young man, Albert Wyeth. Please give me explicit instructions how to act in case 
that others be brought to this city, as it is painful and revolting to be persuaded of 
their innocence without power to assist them. 

Please answer by first opportunity. 

I am, most respectfully, your obedient servant, 

A. E. PHILLIPS, 
Acting United States Consul. 



No. 70. 

Mr. Davis to Mr. Plumb. 

No. 20.] Department of State, 

Washington, July 7, 1869. 

* w w tP $fc ^ ^ 

I read your No. 49 (inclosing a copy of the report of the consul at 
Santiago de Cuba, upon the execution of Speakman) to the President, 
who immediately ordered a vessel of war to proceed to Santiago to in- 
vestigate the case. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 103 

NO. 71. 

Mr. Fish to Gen. Sickles. 

No. 9.] Washington, August 10, 1869. 

On the third day of July last information was received at this depart- 
ment from Dr. Phillips, vice-consul of the United States at Santiago de 
Cuba, that Charles Speakman, a citizen of the United States, who had, 
against his will, been forced to accompany an expedition against Cuba 
in the Grape Shot, and had voluntarily surrendered himself to the Span- 
ish authorities as a non-combatant, had been cruelly murdered, with a 
formality of trial that amounted only to a farce. The details of this 
are so fully set forth in the dispatch of Mr. Phillips, a copy of which is 
inclosed, that it is needless for me, in this connection, to do more than 
refer to it. 

On the receipt of this information the President directed Admiral Hoff 
to proceed at once to Santiago de Cuba, and to investigate the case in 
person. 

By direction of the President, Dr. Phillips's dispatch was also, on the 
same day, read to Mr. Eoberts by Mr. Davis, and that gentleman, on 
hearing it, assured Mr. Davis that he would inquire into the case, and 
that a proper compensation should be made by the Spanish government 
to the family of Mr. Speakman. 

A few days afterward another dispatch was received from Mr. Phil- 
lips, a copy of which is inclosed, containing an account of the execution 
of Albert Wyeth, another American citizen, under circumstances of 
equal barbarity and cruelty. For the details of this, also, I refer you to 
the consul's dispatch, confining myself in this connection to calling your 
attention to the fact that Mr. Wyeth's dying declarations fully confirm 
Mr. Speakman's assertions of his own innocence. 

Admiral Hoff, upon the receipt of his instructions, sailed as soon as 
possible for Santiago de Cuba, and arrived there on the 11th of July, 
with the flag-ship, the steamship Gettysburg, and monitor Centaur. He 
proceeded at once to make a thorough investigation of these cases, and 
reported in detail to the Navy Department, with full enclosures, copies 
of all which are enclosed, in support of the conclusions to which he 
arrived. 

Those conclusions are, " that these men were cruelly murdered, owing 
entirely to the weakness of the Spanish official at this city, (Santiago 
de Cuba,) in yielding to the demands of the Catalan volunteers, and in 
misconstruing or acting upon the cruel decree of the 24th of March, 
1869." 

In this opinion, and in the forcible language in which it is expressed, 
the President fully concurs. You are accordingly instructed to demand 
of the Spanish government full reparation to the families or represent- 
atives of Charles Speakman and of Albert Wyeth, for their murder by 
the Spanish authorities, so far as pecuniary compensation can make 
reparation therefor. 

You will observe, also, that Admiral Hoff says that " Great Britain's 
laws of citizenship have enabled her to obtain from Spain the entire 
revocation of this proclamation, which fact seems to be known and 
observed by the Spaniards throughout the island, and certainly gives 
British subjects greater consideration when captured or wrecked upon 
the Cuban coast." 

I do not know what peculiarity in the British laws Admiral Hoff refers 
to. You will, however, call the attention of the Spanish minister for 



104 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

foreign affairs to this fact, arid will say that we shall expect citizens of 
the United States to be treated with as much consideration, and to enjoy- 
as broad rights, as the citizens of any other country. 

You will also, in the name of the President, solemnly protest against 
any longer carrying on this war in Cuba in this barbarous way. For 
now nearly a year the insurgents have maintained themselves against 
all the forces which Spain and the Catalan volunteers have been able to 
put into the field against them. In the judgment of the President, in 
which I believe the whole civilized world will coincide, the time has 
come when this struggle should be carried on in a more humane way. 
To shoot prisoners of war, simply because they are taken with arms in 
their hands, is not in accordance with the customs of the Christian 
world. This country is deeply interested in the proper solution of this 
question. Our relations with Cuba are so many and so intimate that 
we cannot regard this struggle, in all its details, with anything but 
intense interest. Our earnest wish has been and is to do our whole duty 
as a neutral nation toward Spain in this emergency. Feeling that we 
have done so ; that under circumstances of peculiar difficulty we have 
enforced our laws and maintained our neutrality, we think that we have 
a right on our part to insist that Spain shall carry on this war hereafter 
in a manner more in accordance with the humane and Christian senti- 
ment of the age. 



No. 72. 

General Siclries to Mr. Fish. 

No. 15.] September 8, 1869. 

I have the honor to forward you a copy of my note to Mr. Becerra, 
the minister of state ad interim, in relation to Charles Speakman and 
Albert Wyeth, executed at Santiago de Cuba. In the further execution 
of your instructions No. 10, I have, in the same communication, formally 
protested against these deplorable excesses, demanding, in the name of 
humanity, that the war in Cuba, if prolonged, shall not be conducted in 
disregard of the customs and usages of Christian nations. 



General Sicldes to the Minister of State. 

Madrid, September 6, 1869. 

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United 
States of America, in obedience to the instructions of his government, has the honor to 
request the attention of his excellency the minister of state to certain quite recent 
transactions at Santiago de Cuba, in which, by the orders of the governor of that place, 
two American citizens, who had committed no crime, and who had voluntarily sought 
the protection of the Spanish authorities, were put to death without trial. 

On the third clay of July last, the Department of State was informed by the Ameri- 
can vice-consul at Santiago de Cuba that Charles Speakmau, a citizen of the United 
States, who had voluntarily surrendered himself to the Spanish authorities as a non- 
combatant, had been executed by order of the governor after an ex parte proceeding, not 
to be called a trial. 

On receipt of this information the President directed Admiral Hoffto proceed at once 
to Santiago de Cuba and to investigate the case in person. 

By direction of the President the consul's dispatch was, on the same day, read to his 
excellency the Spanish minister at Washington by the acting Secretary of State, when 
JMr. Roberts assured Mr. Davis the matter should be investigated and a proper com- 
pensation made by the Spanish government to the family of the deceased. 

A few days afterward the vice-consul at Santiago de Cuba reported to the Depart- 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 105 

ment of State the execution of Albert Wyeth, another American, under circumstances 
equally summary, groundless, and cruel. , 

Admiral Hoff, as soon as he had received his instructions, sailed for Santiago de Cuba, 
where he arrived on the 11th of July, and, after a thorough investigation, reported in 
detail all the material facts relating to both of these deplorable occurrences. 

It appears from these official reports and the accompanying documents, that Charles 
Speakman, a citizen of the United States, residing in Aurora, Indiana, where he has a 
wife and child, being by occupation a sailor, about the end of Ax>iil shipped as a seaman 
on board the schooner Grape Shot, of New York, signing articles for Falmouth, in Ja- 
maica, in good faith, knowing nothing of the objects of the voyage. "While lying in 
the lower bay of New York, the tug-boat which was to tow the Grape Shot to sea 
arrived at midnight, bringing some fifty armed Cubans, with a considerable supply of 
munitions of war. Speakman objected to continuing the voyage, aud desired to return 
to the city in the propeller ; but the captain assured him that, although he had taken 
the Cubans on board, he would not risk his vessel by attempting to run the Spanish 
blockade, but would proceed at once to Falmouth, land the Cubans, and go for a cargo 
of fruit. When off Cape Maysi the Cubans took charge of the vessel, ran her ashore, 
and disembarked. 

Speakman, who had had a quarrel with the captain about the engagement, was 
forcibly put on shore with the Cubans. They were soon attacked by the Spanish 
troops, routed, and dispersed, Speakman taking no part in the fight. He took the first 
opportunity to give himself up to the Spanish authorities, and on the 16th of June was 
brought to Santiago, subjected to a private examination before the fiscal, in the pres- 
ence of an interpreter, aud condemned to death immediately. The consul of the United 
States made application to the governor of the place by letter to grant a reprieve of a 
few days, to enable Speakman to obtain from Jamaica the proofs necessary to establish 
his innocence. The letter of the consul was never answered. He then, in company 
with the English vice-consul, made a personal application to the governor. The gov- 
ernor replied that his orders were positive, alluding to Captain General Dulce's proc- 
lamation of the 24th of March, 1809, and added that, owing to the dissensions prevail- 
ing in the Spanish forces, the dissatisfaction of the Catalan volunteers, and the danger 
of a counter revolution against himself, it would be entirely impossible to grant even 
a short reprieve. Consequently SpeAman was executed on the morning of the 17th 
June, within fourteen hours after he was brought to the city. 

These facts are derived from the official reports of the acting United States consul, 
Dr. Phillips, Admiral Hoff, and the dying statements of Speakman, and of those who 
were executed with him, who united in declaring his innocence of all complicity in the 
objects of the expedition. 

And it further appears that Albert Wyeth, of Pennsylvania, a young man of only 
twenty years of age, and very respectably connected, sailed in the same schooner Grape- 
shot for Falmouth, Jamaica, for the benefit of his health. On learning the real destination 
of the schooner he energetically protested against taking part in the enterprise. When 
the expedition disembarked he was forced to land with the Cubans, and took the first 
opportunity to surrender himself to the Spanish authorities. He was shot on the 21st 
of June, and, so far as can be ascertained, without even the pretense of a trial. The 
acting consul of the United States, in a personal interview with the governor, urged in 
vain the extreme youth of the prisoner, his respectable social standing, and his inno- 
cence of any criminal intent, as reasons for a commutation or reprieve of the sentence. 

Admiral Hoff, in his report to the Navy Department, which is accompanied by all 
the evidence necessary to support his conclusions, declares that these men were sacrificed 
through "the weakness of the Spanish official at this city (Santiago de Cuba) in yield- 
ing to the demands of the Catalan volunteers, and in misconstruing or acting upon the 
cruel decree of the 24th day of March, 1889." 

In this opinion and in the forcible language in which it is expressed the President 
fully concurs, and the undersigned is instructed to demand of the Spanish government 
full reparation to be made to the families or representatives of the said Charles Speak- 
man and Albert Wyeth, in so far as pecuniary compensation can make reparation for 
these unjustifiable homicides. 

It also appears by the report of Admiral Hoff that Great Britain has been enabled 
" to obtain from Spain the entire revocation of the proclamation of 24th March, 1869, 
which fact seems to be known and observed by the Spanish authorities throughout the 
island, and certainly gives British subjects greater consideration when captured or 
wrecked ux>on the Cuban coast." The undersigned, in bringing this circumstance to the 
notice of the minister of state, is instructed to say that the United States claim for 
their citizens the same consideration and the same rights enjoyed by the citizens or 
subjects of any other power. 

The government of the United .States has heretofore remonstrated against certain 
proclamations of the Captain General of Cuba, that threatened a mode of warfare at 
variance with the recognized customs of civilized nations. It has been the earnest 
hope of the President that these friendly representations would not be disregarded by 



106 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Spain. The United States, in dealing with a rebellion of vast proportions, which was 
not a struggle for self-government, emancipation, or ameliorated forms of administra- 
tion, nevertheless accorded to the insurgents all the amenities of warfare. No life was 
sacrificed, not even among the conspicuous and responsible actors in the insurrection, 
unless in battle, and in accordance with the usages of war. Nor was any discrimina- 
tion made between those citizens of the United States who took part, in the insurrec- 
tion and the citizens or subjects of foreign nations who joined the rebel standard; all, 
when captured, were treated alike as prisoners of war, and when non-combatants were 
accused of military offenses within the Union lines, and a trial by the ordinary tribu- 
nals was impracticable, they were arraigned before a military commission, in which all 
the safeguards essential to the administration of justice were carefully observed ; the 
accused were allowed a reasonable time to prepare for trial, the privilege of counsel to 
assist in their defense, the attendance of witnesses as well as the right of cross-examin- 
ation ; and it was necessary to the validity of sentences pronounced by these tribunals, 
that the proceedings should be reviewed and sanctioned by superior authority. 

It has been, and is now, the sincere wish of the United States to perform all their 
duties as a neutral nation towards Spain in this emergency. Under circumstances of 
peculiar difficulty, the United States have enforced their laws and maintained their 
neutrality throughout the contest. Their relations with Cuba are so many aud so 
intimate, that they cannot but feel an intense interest in a struggle for independence 
which derives so much of its inspiration from the example of their own free institutions 
and the past intercourse between Cuba and the republic, not to speak of the recent 
illustration Spaiu herself has given of the love of liberty cherished by all Spaniards. 
For nearly a year the insurgents have maintained themselves against all the force 
Spain has been able to put into the field against them. In the judgment of the Presi- 
dent, in which it is believed the whole civilized world will concur, the time has come 
when this struggle should be carried on in a more humane way. To shoot prisoners of 
war simply because they are taken with arms in their hands, is not in accordance with 
the customs of Christian nations. Hostilities so conducted, besides increasing the sys- 
pathy felt for the Cubans, can only aggravate and protract a contest involving ques- 
tions in which the United States have interests too important to be disregarded. 

In view of the foregoing facts and considerations, the undersigned is instructed to 
protest with all solemnity, in the name of the Plesident of the United States, against 
the deplorable excesses which have thus far characterized the war in Cuba, and to 
insist, as the President believes he may rightfully insist, in the name of humanity, that 
hereafter, while hostilities are prolonged, the war shall be conducted in a manner 
more in accord with the humane and Christian sentiment of the age. 

The undersigned avails himself of this occasion to renew to his excellency the min- 
ister of state the assurances of his most distinguished consideration. 

D. E. SICKLES. 



No. 73. 
Gen. Siclcles to Mr. Fish. 
No. 17.J September 14, 1869. 

His excellency then informed me that a report from the Captain Gen- 
eral of Cuba had been called for in relation to the cases of Speakman 
and Wyeth, and if the facts were as alleged, fall reparation would be 
made to the families of the deceased ; and he added that orders had 
been given to prevent such scenes of cruelty in the future conduct of 
the war. 



No. 74. 

Gen. Siclcles to Mr. Fish. 

Madrid, November 2, 1869. 
1 have the honor to transmit a translation of the note of the minister 
of state, Mr. Silvela, of the 10th of October, in reply to my note of the 
6th of September, in relation to the Speakman and Wyeth murders, and 
a copy of my rejoinder, dated October 30th. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA.. 107 

Mr. Silvela to Gen. SicMes. 
[Translation.] 

Madrid, October 11, 1869. 

Sir : This ministry received in due time the note of your excellency, dated 6th of 
Septeinher, relating to two American citizens upon whom the penalty of death was 
inflicted in Santiago de Cuba, as you affirm, without their having committed any crime, 
and when they had voluntarily given themselves up to the authorities, asking for„pro- 
tection. 

Circumstances and events which it is necessary to mention have caused some 
delay in my answer, but I believe no prejudice to the object of the note referred to has 
resulted froin this, as, in the meanwhile, information has been received from the Cap- 
tain General of the island of Cuba in regard to what took place in the case cited by 
your excellency. 

One fact results from the documents belonging to the matter, to which I will, in the 
first place, call your attention, and this is, that in the cordial and frank interviews 
which Admiral Hoff held with the authorities of Santiago de Cuba, to inform himself, 
in accordance with the orders of his government, of the considerations which might 
have justified the punishment inflicted upon Charles Speakman, this officer of the 
American navy expressed himself, as it appears, satisfied with the explanations which 
he had received from the governor of Santiago without making any objection to the 
statements adduced by the latter in support of his conduct, and only when he was pre- 
paring to leave the island he directed to the above-mentioned governor a protest 
against his acts with respect to the American citizens in question. 

This proceeding of Admiral Hoff permits the supposition that, in making a protest in 
that form, he yielded to other causes foreign to the subject rather than to his convic- 
tions of right, since, in the other case, he would at least have announced his purpose 
during the interview, contradicting the observations of the Spanish authority which so 
freely offered to furnish all the facts conducing to the manifestation of the justice with 
which he had acted. 

The presumption favorable to the Spanish authority which arises from this is fully 
confirmed, if the facts are examined with care and impartiality. 

A preliminary consideration necessary to be taken into account is the bloody char- 
acter of the insurrection, and the cruelty and ferocity of its titular chiefs, who have 
gone so far as to openly order, as it appears from an edict of the leader Cespedes, arson, 
pillage, and murder. In this way was produced a just indignation among the govern- 
ment forces, and among the numerous islanders who assist them in the defense of the 
principle of authority against the felonious excesses of undisciplined bands, the desire 
was aroused among all to avenge injuries and insults which they had not provoked, 
and the civil war came to assume a character which the mother country deplores, and 
for which they are solely responsible, who, not contented with rushing to arms at a time 
when, more than ever, the way of realizing all legitimate aspirations was open to them, 
still sought to destroy their own country with fire and devastation. 

Hence the necessity of rigorous measures, which, although they have subsequently 
been subjected to essential modifications in a lenient sense, could not be applied at that 
time, by the authorities, without distinction of natives and foreigners, even when in 
reality these last were much more culpable, taking an attitude of hostility to a govern- 
ment whose acts in no way affected them. 

To these dispositions to which I allude, justified by the necessity of depriving the 
insurrection of the assistance which it received from abroad, the governor of Santiago 
had to conform in the case under discussion, being compelled to treat Speakman, taken 
with arms in his hands, as an enemy of Spain with regard to his nationality, which 
disappeared in presence of the crime for which he had made himself responsible. That 
the law was justly applied is shown by the confession of the accused, as appears from 
the letter which he addressed to his unfortunate family shortly before his death. I 
send you a copy of this document, and by reading it you will see that the unfortunate 
Speakman begins by declaring that he was captured by the Spanish forces, and this is 
sufficient, in my judgment, to remove all the force of the exculpation alleged in the suppo- 
sition that Speakman had been forcibly landed in Cuba, and had afterward given 
himself up voluntarily to the authorities' of the country. You will also observe that 
when about to suffer the final penalty, and when writing to his wife and child, Speak- 
man makes no protest of his innocence, and only shows resentment against those who 
compromised him in the enterprise which cost him his life, whom he makes responsible 
for his misfortune, urging his family to institute proceedings against them. 

In this connection I call your attention to the paragraph of the letter referred to, in 
which he says, literally, " claim damages of the ship-owners ; they have taken my life, 
and have deprived you of my support, and they ought to aid you. There will be a state- 
ment here, which will go on to the government, and, by what I have been told, you will 
be able to see a contract between them and the Cuban Junta in New York to land these 
men in Cuba, and if you can obtain it you will recover large damages." These words 



108 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

need no comment. The victim himself indicates where the responsibility lies, and 
addressing himself at the last moment to the object of his greatest affection, completely 
exempts the Spanish government and accuses the ship-owners and the Cuban Junta, 
who have deprived him of his life, and meutions the contract to land those men in Cuba. 
The ship-owners and the Cuban Junta, whose mission is notorious, reside in the terri- 
tory of the United States, and it is most just that that government, following the sug- 
gestion of the unfortunate Speakman, should endeavor to exact of them the responsi- 
bility which the last will of the accused throws upon them, and upon them exclusively. 
A case is impossible, therefore, in which the irresponsibility of the Spanish authorities 
could be more clearly proven. Still further it appears, as proof of his culpability, that 
Speakman was found armed with a gun when he came into the possession of the Span- 
ish authorities ; for if, victim of a deception as you affirm, he had wished to give him- 
self up voluntarily, nothing obliged him to preserve in his hands the surest proof of 
his participation in the fight. 

With this becomes inadmissible the exculpation which rests upon the supposition of 
a moral or material compulsion ; because, if it were sufficient to allege such an exonera- 
tion to elude responsibility in cases like the present, the impunity of filibusterism 
woidd be almost absolute, it being always easy to declare one's self deceived or forced 
into taking part in filibustering expeditions. 

In fine, it appears and is evident that Speakman formed part of a piratical expedition 
against Cuba, and that he disembarked in the island with re-enforcements en route for 
the insurrection, and that he was taken with arms in his hands ; so that all the circum- 
stances concur which are necessary to constitute the responsibility required by the law 
which was brought into action ; and this being so, the charge which you make against 
the governor of Santiago, of a lack of energy to resist the animosity of the volunteers 
against the unfortunate Speakman, is destitute of foundation, as the officer in question 
only complied with an order, severe, if you please, but necessary to prevent the coming 
of foreigners, the principal element which keeps the insurrection alive, and which most 
contributes to the devastation of the Island of Cuba, whose ruin is to them entirely 
indifferent. 

Referring to the observations of your excellency in respect to the character assumed 
by the fratricidal struggle which exists in that transatlantic province, I think proper 
to state that the government earnestly desires to establish all possible conditions of 
humanity in the struggle, in spite of the persistence of the insurgents in committing 
indescribable outrages ; and if we have hitherto not seen realized our desire to mitigate 
the horrors of war, it is owing to the conduct of our enemies, who poison the minds of 
the many islanders who are attacked and injured in their families and their interests; 
the cause of the rigorous measures sometimes resorted to being also the just anxiety to 
prevent the coming of foreign re-enforcements, which have so much contributed and 
still contribute to prolong the insurrection. 

As a proof of the humane disposition by which the government is actuated, I call 
your attention to the measures which, in accordance, with this, have been already 
adopted. The first is (among others of less importance) the order given by the Captain 
General of the Island of Cuba, that in the cases of the imprisonment of a foreigner, 
the proper dispatch shall be drawn up at once to be sent to that official, if the case 
does not require to be submitted to the decision of a court-martial, and even then the 
necessary report must be sent for final action. 

Among these measures figures also the circular of the 23d of September, emanating 
from the government, in which it is provided that the conquered enemy who surrenders 
under the faith which is pledged to respect his rights is a sacred object which Spain 
covers with her segis, and it belongs to the tribunals alone to judge his conduct, with- 
out it being permitted to any one to invade the power of justice. It is also forbidden 
in all cases to employ reprisals against the barbarous devastation which, as a means of 
attaining an impossible victory, is resorted to by the rebels ; and, in fine, mercy and 
humanity is generally recommended in the conduct of the war. 

These are the sentiments which animate the Spanish government, which, represent- 
ing in Spain the most liberal ideas for the government of a state, cannot represent in 
Cuba principles which would be the negative of these, and I therefore trust that your 
excellency, convinced of the loyalty of our views, and persuaded on the other hand of 
the justice with which the law has been applied in the case which was the occasion of 
your note to which this is a reply, will see that the subject in question shall not give 
rise to any misunderstanding. 

I improve this opportunity to renew to your excellency the assurances of my most 
distinguished consideration. 

MANUEL SILVELA. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 109 

Gen. Siclcles to Mr. Silvela. 

Madrid, October 30, 1869. 

Sir: I have received your excellency's note of the 11th instant, in reply to mine of 
the 6th ultimo, demanding indemnity for the families of Charles Speakman and Albert 
Wyeth, two American citizens summarily put to death without cause by the Spanish 
authorities at Santiago de Cuba, in June last, and protesting against the repetition of 
such acts in the further prosecution of hostilities in Cuba. 

My government will receive with due consideration the statement of your excellency 
that the Spanish government desires to establish all possible conditions of humanity 
in the fratricidal struggle which prevails in that island, and that, in proof of this 
humane disposition, the Captain General has ordered reports to be made to him of the 
imprisonment of foreigners, if the case does not require to be brought before a court- 
martial ; that in such cases the proceedings are to be submitted to him for final action ; 
that the circular of the 23d September ultimo, emanating from the Spanish govern- 
ment, has provided " that the conquered enemy who surrenders under the faith which 
is pledged to respect his rights is a sacred object which Spain covers with her aegis, 
and that it belongs to the tribunals alone to judge his conduct, without it being per- 
mitted to any one to invade that jurisdiction ; " that acts of retaliation are forbidden 
in any case ; that mercy and humanity are enjoined in the conduct of the war ; and 
that the government which upholds in Spain the most liberal ideas cannot represent 
in Cuba principles in conflict with these. 

Proceeding. to the consideration of the particular cases to which I had the honor to 
invite the attention of the Spanish government, I cannot fail to observe that your 
excellency makes no allusion whatever to the case of Wyeth, from which I trust I may 
assume that the demand of my government in respect to him is admitted to be just. 

It is not without regret that I note the avowal of your excellency that Speakman 
was executed in conformity with the law and the orders in force in Cuba; and that the 
fate of this unfortunate man was no other than had been decreed by competent author- 
ity against all enemies of Spain taken with arms in their hands ; for, although the de- 
mand for indemnity in this case rests upon the ground that Speakman was innocent of 
any hostile act or intent against the Spanish authority, I must reject as repugnant to 
all the sentiments of our advanced civilization any assumption that appears to tolerate 
the indiscriminate slaughter of prisoners of Avar. I prefer, indeed, to discuss the 
question presented on the basi3 of the more benign code your excellency informs me 
has been lately adopted in Cuba. 

N.or can I pass without emphatic dissent the inadmissible inference drawn from the 
courteous forbearance of Admiral Hoff in waiting until he had obtained all the testi- 
mony in relation to the execution of Speakman and Wyeth before addressing his formal 
protest to the authorities of Santiago de Cuba. 

I must also note the significant omission of your excellency to affirm that Speakman 
was tried by a competent tribunal, and sentenced upon due proof of the commission of 
a capital crime. And although it is insisted that his offense consisted in the violation 
of a law, neither the tenor of the law, nor the authority sanctioning it, is mentioned. 
It may, however, be presumed that your excellency refers to the decree of the Captain 
General of Cuba, of the 24th of March, 1869, a copy of which was furnished to Admiral 
Hoff by the governor of Santiago de Cuba, as the authority under which he acted. It 
will be sufficient for me to repeat the purport of this decree as given to the consul of 
the United States by Mr. De la Torre, in his letter of the 13th of June last, in reply to 
inquiries made by the consul in relation to the fate of certain American citizens. The 
governor, quoting the words of the general commanding the department of the east, 
says that, " by the national laws, every foreigner setting foot in Spanish territory in 
attitude of war, and who is taken with arms in his hands, is liable to the penalty of 
death without process, (sin formation de causa;) consequently the prisoners in question 
have suffered this punishment ivithout ascertainment of their nationality." 

Your excellency, in the absence of any trial of the accused, relies upon the letter 
Speakman is represented to have written to his wife a few hours before he was shot, to 
prove that the law of Spain was regularly and justly applied to his case. It isa con- 
clusive answer to any attempt to sustain the sentence by the contents of that letter, 
that it was written on the morning he was executed and after he had been condemned 
to death ; so that, whatever might have been the force and effect of the testimony 
under other circumstances, it is impossible that the letter could have been in any way 
considered by the authorities in determining their action upon the case. 

But I am quite prepared to maintain that Speakman's letter, so far from justifying 
the accusation against him, discloses a state of facts altogether inconsistent with any 
purpose of taking part in an expedition against Cuba. Your excellency cites the dec- 
laration of Speakman that " he had been captured by the Spaniards " as sufficient to 
remove all the force of the exculpation claimed in his behalf on the ground that he had 
been forcibly landed in Cuba, and had voluntarily given himself up to the authorities. 
I must observe that the actual declaration of Speakman, as contained in the copy of 



110 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

his letter sent to me with your excellency's note, differs materially irom the words at- 
tributed to him, as the foundation of this argument. Speakman says : " I have been 
captured by the .Spaniards on the Island of Cuba, where the vessel went in, instead of 
going to Falmouth, Jamaica, where I had shipped to go." It thus appears, beyond all 
question, by this accurate quotation from the very document so much depended upon 
by your excellency, that this unfortunate sailor was innocent of any intent to embark 
for Cuba, having expressly shipped for another destination. 

Your excellency proceeds to make further deductions from another part of Speak- 
man's letter, in which he says to his wife, "I am leaving you without a penny, but you 
will be able to recover something by getting a good lawyer to claim damages of the 
ship-owners. They have taken my life and deprived you of my support, and they ought 
to aid you. There will be a statement here which will go on to the government, and, 
by what I have been told, you will be able to see a contract between them and the Cuban 
Junta in New York, to land these men in Cuba, and, if you can obtain it, you will recover 
large damages." Before commenting on the observations made by your excellency on 
this part, of the letter, I wish to invite attention to the force with which it repels the 
assumption of Speakman's culpability. It is plain that all his instructions are predi- 
cated upon his belief that having, as he declares, shipped to go to Falmouth, Jamaica, 
and having been deceived by the supposed collusion between the owners of the vessel 
and the parties who chartered her, his family will be entitled to recover damages for 
the injury suffered from the deceit thus practiced upon him. But, with what color of 
pretense could he have urged his family to claim damages, if, as your excellency con- 
tends in justifying his execution, Speakman voluntarily embarked in an expedition 
against Cuba, and landed on the island in conformity with the conditions on which he 
shipped for the voyage ? How could he declare that "they," the ship-owners, "have 
taken my life," if he had himself engaged in the fatal enterprise ? But his meaning is 
too plain to be misunderstood ; he says, " by what I have been told you will be able to 
see a contract between them," the ship-owners, "and the Cuban Junta in New York, 
to land these men in Cuba." What men ? Not the crew, of which he formed part ; not 
the innocent passengers, like Wyeth, who was seeking a change of climate for his 
health ; but the party who came aboard secretly, after the vessel cleared from New 
York, and who subsequently effected their landing in Cuba ; and if anything could add 
to the force of these considerations, it is the appeal he makes in the last Avords of his 
letter, before invoking the Divine blessing on his family, to the testimony of William 
Craig, of New York, one of his shipmates, for the confirmation of his innocence of all 
complicity in the real objects of the voyage. 

Your excellency gravely suggests that the United States government has mistaken 
its remedy in demanding indemnity from Spain. This point appears to be seriously 
urged, and I shall, therefore, treat it with respectful consideration. Whatever may be 
the liability of the parties in New York, in their relation to the voyage of the Grapeshot — 
whether it be to the government of the United States for a violation of the neutrality 
laws, or to individuals for deceit practiced upon the crew — these questions are com- 
pletely distiuct from the responsibility of the Spanish government for acts committed 
within its jurisdiction by its authorized agents. Spain is none the less bound to make 
indemnity in this case because there are other wrong-doers in the transaction. By the 
action of the authorities of Santiago de Cuba, now justified by the Spanish govern- 
ment, the innocent shared the fate of the guilty. If it be true that the ship-owners 
and the Cuban Junta, in New York, should be held responsible for offenses committed 
within the jurisdiction of the United States, it does not follow that Spain may escape 
her share of responsibility for the unjustifiable sacrifice within her lines of the 
unfortunate Speakman — victim as he was of fraud on the one hand and of outrage on 
the other. 

Having shown, as I trust plainly, that the testimony relied upon by yqur excellency 
to prove the guilt of Speakman furnishes, in truth, the most satisfactory proof of his 
innocence, I proceed to examine the only additional consideration suggested by your 
excellency to establish his culpability. Your excellency states that it further appears 
that Speakman was found armed with a gun when he came into the hands of the Span- 
ish authorities, and it is argued that if he had been deceived in shipping for the voyage 
or constrained to join the insurgents on landing, as has been affirmed, "nothing obliged 
him to preserve in his hands the surest proof of his participation in the fight." To this 
it may be fairly replied that nothing was easier to one who desired to conceal evidence 
of guilt than to throw away a gun ; keeping his gun until he surrendered himself to 
the Spanish authorities, Speakman gave the surest pledge of his sincerity, and the most 
convincing proof of the truth of his representations. We are not left to conjecture to 
ascertain how it happened that Speakman had a gun in his possession. He explains 
this fact himself in his examination before the attorney general and the notary, which 
took place in the prison at Santiago de Cuba, the day before he was executed. In the 
course of this proceeding, the only prelude to his sentence and execution, the following 
question was put to the accused : " How is it you say you remained under arrest, and 
had refused to take arms, when you had a gun when you were captured ?" To which 



STEUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. Ill 
Speakman answered : " The gun he had when they took him prisoner was the one the 



It is a recognized principle of the law of evidence that a party is bound by the testi- 
mony of the witness he produces ; another maxim not less imperative requires that all 
the declarations of a witness must he taken together, for it is not permitted to a party 
to avail himself of so much only as benefits his case and reject the remainder. I must 
therefore remind your excellency of the testimony of Speakman in his formal exami- 
nation already mentioned. In this examination Speakman stated that " he shipped as 
a sailor ; " " the number of men disembarked was some five and thirty, more or less ; " 
that he " staid on shore because they stove the boat they landed in ; " and after a quarrel 
with the captain " they put him under arrest and he remained under arrest seven or 
eight days ; he saw two men, to whom he gave himself up, delivering also the gun 
which he had." This testimony is not contradicted ; it is consistent with all the decla- 
rations of Speakman himself, and is confirmed by the dying declarations of Wyeth, and 
others who were on board the Grape Shot. The American and British vice-consuls, 
satisfied of the innocence of Speakman, appealed in vain to the governor to grant a 
respite of three days, to obtain from Falmouth, Jamaica, conclusive testimony of the 
innocence of the accused. Refusing to postpone the execution of the sentence, which 
swiftly followed $he accusation, and was pronounced without any opportunity afforded 
the accused to exculpate himself, the Spanish authorities have imposed upon themselves 
the obligation to establish indisputably the guilt of Speakman, at once their victim and 
in the world could pronounce a sentence of death on the meager testimony produced 
their witness ; and failing in this, his bloodis upon their heads. No judicial tribunal 
against this man. 

The enlightened statesmen who now administer the government of Spam have them- 
selves denounced the summary and sanguinary code which consigns to instant death a 
prisoner of war, taken with arms in his hands. Regarded with the most lenient dis- 
position toward the Spanish authorities, the case presents no feature of mitigation to 
screen them from denunciation. Concede all that is alleged against Speakman, and 
he was a prisoner of war put to death by his captors in obedience to a decree of the 
Captain General, against which the United States government had not alone remon- 
strated, as contrary to the usages of nations ; a brief respite of the sentence was refused 
to the consul of the United States ; the same appeal from the British consul made m 
the name of humanity was impeded ; no mercy was accorded in consideration of a vol- 
untary surrender ; instantly shot in cold blood, the mutilated remains of this sacrifice 
to a code of war not recognized by any civilized nation, were refused a decent burial. 

In conclusion, dismissing from the discussion all that is irrelevant, it is enough to 
recapitulate the facts as they are derived from official sources. The United States con- 
sul at Santiago de Cuba, in a dispatch to the Secretary of State of June 18, 1869, imme- 
diately after the occurrence, reports the whole transaction fully and circumstantially ; 
and in this testimony I rest the case presented on the part of the United States to the 
government of Spain ; he says : 

" On Tuesday, 13th, the English vice-consul sent me a note stating that an American 
prisoner had just passed his consulate for the city prison, and in a few minutes I re- 
ceived a dispatch from the governor notifying me of the same. I immediately called 
upon this authority, who gave me a pass to the prison where I could have a public or 
private intervieAv with the prisoner. I called the fiscal (attorney general) and a cap- 
tain of the volunteers, who understood English perfectly, and under oath to me the 
prisoner made this declaration, he being unable to write from having his arms so long 
pinioned as to leave a partial paralysis of his hands : stated that he was a native of 
Aurora, Indiana, being married, and having a child four years of age ; left New York 
Harbor in the schooner Grape Shot ; signed the articles as a sailor for Falmouth, Jamaica, 
in good faith, knowing nothing of the nature of the voyage save its legitimate object. 
After anchoring in the Lower Bay of New York, waiting for a tug to tow her out to 
sea, which arrived at midnight, bringing some fifty armed Cubans with a good supply 
of munitions of war, objected to continue the voyage and desired to return to the city 
in the tug. The captain assured him that although he had taken the Cubans, he would 
not risk his vessel to run the Spanish blockade, but would proceed to Falmouth, land 
the men, and go for a cargo of cocoanuts. When off Cape Maysi the Cubans took pos- 
session of the vessel, changed her course, ran her to land, and discharged. 

" He insisted upon continuing the voyage, but, having had some difficulty with the 
captain, was left on shore under threat of shooting him if he attempted any resistance. 
After the subsequent engagement, in which he took no part, not being armed, he, sought 
some place of safety, and finding the unarmed men, gave himself up and requested to 
be sent to the American consul; was bound and brought here, and, without judge or 
jury, sentenced to be shot on the following morning ; protested against his executioners, 
and declared that the vessel's register and mate's log-book would prove Lis capacity on 



112 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

board, and other evidence that he could procure from Jamaica -would guarantee his 
innocence. 

" This declaration I read in English and made a verbal translation to the fiscal, who 
had pronounced the sentence of death upon him. I immediately sent a copy to the 
governor, beiug 10 o'clock p. m., praying for a respite for a few days, in order to procure 
proofs from Jamaica, and requested an immediate reply. I waited nearly all night in 
the office, and received no reply. Early in the morning I visited him again and found 
the prisoner surrounded by the guards formed for his execution. He appeared calm, and 
assured me had no fear to die, and again assured me, as a dying man, of his inno- 
cence, and only begged for a day or two to furnish proofs. At that moment the English 
vice-consul kiudly came in and offered to go with me to the governor. We found him 
still in bed, stated the urgency of the case, and asked, in the name of mercy and 
of our countries, for a respite, and assured him that the German man-of-war, now lying 
in port, would take the letter over. The governor seemed disposed to grant this request, 
but informed us of his superior instructions, and in order to wash his hands of the 
blood (in our opinion) of an innocent man, had the debility to inform us of his impotence 
as the chief magistrate of this city. ' My troops will not obey ; disseution prevails in 
the army ; General Buceta, commanding officer of the forces, is a fugitive on board of a 
Spanish man-of-war. The Catalans, a few nights since, attempted to assassinate him 
under the pretence of a serenade. General Camara was next selected, who, hearing of 
the plot, secreted soldiers in his house, which frustrated their plan. His death would 
have been the signal for a general uprising of the Catalans, and of sacking, plunder, 
and massacre of Cubans.' 

"Finding all hopes gone we retired, and in our exit met the governor's aide-de-camp, 
with whom we had some conversation. He assured us that anarchy prevailed ; the 
mob rules ; the governor is impotent and fears a counter-revolution. 

" So the man was executed, leaving a letter for his wife and child, showing himself 
to be a man of good and fair education, proclaiming his innocence, and instructing her 
to sue the owners of the vessel for damages, having left her penniless." 

This evidence, which is not contradicted in a material statement by any testimony 
which has been produced, presents so plain a case for indemnity that I trust the Spanish 
government will not fail to respond without delay to the just demand made in my note 
of the 6th ultimo, and which is now repeated. 

I avail myself of this occasion to renew to your excellency assurances of my most dis- 
tinguished consideration. 

D. E. SICKLES. 



No. 75. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 

No. 56.] HAVANA, June 29, 1869. 

Inclosed here with I transmit copy of a letter, under date of 26th instant, 
received yesterday from Mr. Price, consular agent at Nue vitas, giving 
an account of the progress of events in that vicinity. 

The capture by the insurgents of a detachment of upwards of one 
hundred Spanish regular troops, guarding the railroad between Nuevitas 
and Puefto Principe, at a point some seven miles from the latter place, 
as reported" by Mr. Price, appears to be fully confirmed, and is com- 
mented on with some degree of frankness by the papers published in 
this city. 



Mr. Price to Mr. Plumb. 

Nuevitas, June 26, 1869. 

Since mine of the 10th, 11th, and 16th instant, I have none of your favors to refer 
to. The train due here on Tuesday last did not arrive as was expected, which gave 
cause to the circulating of a great many false rumors. But on the 23d instant the train 
arrived here safely. The following account will explain the delay. This train left here 
last Sunday morning and arrived within seven miles of Puerto Principe without any 
mishap. At this point found an encampment of regular troops entirely abandoned, the 
huts burned to the ground, dead horses lying about, the bodies of dead soldiers stick- 
ing halfway up from under the ground, as if buried in haste, and signs of general des- 
olation. Those in charge of the train not knowing what had happened, and fearing 
danger ahead, returned to the Minas, and passed the night at the station. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 113 

Monday morning the train left the Minas again for Puerto Principe; arriving near 
the point from whence they returned the day before, they were met by a column, at 
the head of which was General Letona. 

It seems the insurgents had surprised, early Sunday morning before daylight, the 
detachment composed of seventy-one regulars of the battalion La Reyna, commanded 
by a captain and two lieutenants, thirty Lancers del Rey, commanded by a captain, 
encamped within seven miles of Puerto Principe, on the railroad, in an open sebana or 
large plain. 

Only one soldier of all these made good his escape ; the rest were all made prisoners ; 
the sentinels were killed at their posts. 

The soldier who escaped arrived at Puerto Principe to relate, in an exaggerated man- 
ner, what had happened. 

This is what brought General Letona out with a column, only to find the remains 
above mentioned. 

This reverse has been sorely felt. Their natural pride is highly offended. They can- 
not realize the possibility of a detachment of regular Spanish infantry and cavalry 
being overpowered by the insurgents, to whom they deny all valor. 

Besides the above, there have recently been several skirmishes along the railroad and 
in the vicinity of Puerto Principe ; the number of casualties is not stated. In one of 
them along the road the Spaniards lost six soldiers and an officer. Many arbitrary 
arrests are being made. 

All such Cubans as are able are leaving the country. 

On the 24th instant the Spanish gunboat Andaluza returned from Puerto Padre, 
bringing the battalion La Union, which had been sent last week to re enforce the column 
of Brigadier Ferrer. 

There has been very little fighting in that vicinity since my last. 

The last convoy lost three carts loaded with provisions. 

The cholera is thinning the ranks of Ferrer's brigade faster than the bullets of the 
insurgents. 

The cholera has decreased in this port, and but few cases present themselves ; the dis- 
ease so far has not been of an epidemic character. 

The Atalonja estate, owned by Colonel Francisco Acosta, situated across the bay, was 
burned by the insurgents yesterday. The fire could be seen plainly from here. The 
buildings on this estate were valued at over $60,000. 

. Mrs. Polhanius is waiting here to get to the United States. I hope some of our war 
vessels may touch here soon. 



No. 76. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 

No. 66.] Havana, July S, 1869. 

In his dispatch No. 17, of the 27th of March last, my predecessor, Mr. 
Hall, transmitted to the department copy of a decree issued on the 24th 
of that month by Captain General Dulce " relative to the vessels ap- 
proaching this island with hostile intentions, having men, arms, or muni- 
tions of war on board." 

I have now the honor to transmit to you herewith copy and transla- 
tion of a decree published in the Gazette of last evening, issued by 
Captain General Caballero de Eodas, under date of the 7th instant, in 
substitution for the said decree of the 24th of March last, and of three 
other decrees, of prior elate, pertinent to the same subject, and relating 
to the ports and coasts of this island, and communication therewith. 

In an interview with General Caballero de Eodas to-day, the hope 
was expressed by him that the present decree would be found satisfac- 
tory by the government of the United States. 



[Translation.] 

FIRST SECTION— GENERAL SUPERIOR OFFICES— SUPERIOR POLITICAL GOVERNMENT OF 

THE PROVINCE OF CUBA. 

Havana, July 7, 1869. 
The custody and vigilance of the coasts of this island, adjacent keys, and territorial 
waters, being of the utmost importance in order to put an end to the parties of insur- 
H. Ex. Doc. 160 8 



114 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

gents, which have been sustained by exterior aid, determined to give a vigorous im- 
pulse to their prosecution, and in order to explain certain doubts which have occurred 
to our cruisers as to the genuine interpretation of the decrees published by this supe- 
rior political government under date of the 9th of November, 1868, and 18th and 26th 
of February, and 24th of March of the present year, I have determined to unite and 
amplify in this all of the said dispositions, which therefor remain substituted by the 
present, and making use of the faculties with which I am invested by the government 
of the nation, I decree : 

ARTICLE 1. There shall continue closed to import and export trade, as well for ves- 
sels in foreign commerce as also those in the coasting trade, all the ports situated from 
Cayo Bahia de Cadiz to Puuta Mayso, on the north, and from Punta Mayso to Cieufue- 
gos on the south, with the exception of those of Sagua la Grande, Caibarien, Neuvitas, 
Gibara, Baracoa, Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Manzanillo, Santa Cruz, Zara, Cas- 
ildo, or Trinidad, and Cienfuegos, in which there are established custom-houses or col- 
lection offices. 

Those who attempt to enter the closed ports or to hold communication with the 
coast shall be pursued, and, on being apprehended, prosecuted as infractors of the laws. 

Art. 2. In accordance with the same there shall also be prosecuted vessels carrying 
powder, arms, or military supplies. 

Art. 3. The transportation of individuals for the service of the insurrection is 
much more grave than that of contraband, and will be considered as an act decidedly 
hostile, being proceeded'against in such case as an enemy, the vessel and its crew. 

Art. 4. If the individuals to which the preceding article refers come armed, they 
will afford proof in fact of their intentions, and will be tried as pirates the same as the 
crew of the vessel. 

Art. 5. There shall also be held to be pirates, in conformity with law, vessels 
which may be seized bearing a flag not recognized, whether the same be armed or not 
as vessels of war. 

Art. 6. On the high seas contiguous to those of this island the cruisers shall con- 
fine themselves to exercise over such vessels as may be denounced, or those that by 
their proceedings excite suspicion, the rights stipulated in the treaties signed by Spain 
with the United States in 1795, with Great Britain in 1835, and with other nations 
subsequently, and if in the exercise of these rights vessels should be found recognized 
as enemies of the integrity of the territory, they shall be brought into port for the cor- 
responding legal investigation and trial. 

CABALLERO DE RODAS. 



No. 77. 

Mr. Fish to Mr. Lopez Roberts. 

Washington, July 16, 1869. 
The undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States-, has the 
honor to enclose to Mr. Eoberts, envoy extraordinary and minister pleni- 
potentiary of Spain, a translation of a decree which he has received, 
published in the Gaceta de la Habana, (parte official,) under date of 
July 7, 1869, purporting to be signed by General Caballero de Eodas, 
the Captain General of the Island of Cuba, to which the undersigned 
desires to call the attention of Mr. Eoberts, as it may in its possible op- 
eration involve serious complications between the government of Spain 
and tbat of the United States. It purports to be issued in order to put 
an end to an insurrection in the Island of Cuba, which the United States 
have hitherto treated only as a civil commotion within the dominions of 
Spain, that did not give rise to what are understood as belligerent rights 
on the part of either party to the conflict. But the decree of the Cap- 
tain General de Eodas assumes powers and rights over the trade and 
commerce of other peoples, inconsistent with a state of peace, and which 
the United States can be expected to allow their vessels to be subjected 
to only when Spain avows herself to be in a state of war, or shall be mani^ 
festly exercising the rights conceded only to belligerents in the time of 
war. 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 115 

The first article of the decree proposes to close certain ports, embra- 
cing a large extent of the Island of Cuba, against the peaceful commerce 
of foreign countries. Without contesting the right of a government in 
time of peace to exclude from its ports the trade and commerce of a 
friendly people, the undersigned assumes that the exercise of this power 
is to be understood purely as a municipal act, to be executed and en- 
forced wholly within the recognized exclusive jurisdiction of Spain, and 
only as to ports which are in the possession of the Spanish authorities. 
In case the success of the insurrectionary party should put any of the 
ports, declared to be closed, in their possession, the United States, as a 
maritime nation, will regard an effective blockade to be necessary to the 
exclusion of their commerce. 

The second article of the decree is vague in the absence of the limits 
within which it proposes to prohibit the carrying of powder, arms, or 
military supplies. 

The transportation on the high seas, in time of peace, of articles com- 
monly known as contraband of war, is a legitimate traffic and commerce 
which cannot be interfered with or denounced unless by a power at war 
with a third party in the admitted exercise of the recognized rights of 
a belligerent. The freedom of the ocean can nowhere and under no 
circumstances be yielded by the United States. The high seas contig- 
uous to those of the island of Cuba are a direct pathway of a large part 
of the purely domestic trade of the United States. Their vessels trad- 
ing between their ports in the Gulf of Mexico and those of the Atlantic 
coast pass necessarily through these waters. The greater part of the 
trade between the ports of the United States on the eastern side of the 
continent and those on the Pacific slope, of necessity, passes in sight of 
the Island of Cuba. The United States cannot, then, be indifferent or 
silent under a decree which, by the vagueness of its terms, may be con- 
strued to allow their vessels on the high seas, whatever may be their 
cargo, to be embarrassed or interfered with. If Spain be at war with 
Cuba, the United States will submit to those rights which public law 
concedes to belligerents. But while Spain disclaims a state of belli- 
gerency, or until the United States may find it necessary to recognize her 
as a belligerent, the government of the United States cannot fail to look 
with solicitude upon a decree which, if enforced against any vessel of 
the United States on the high seas, cannot but be regarded as a viola- 
tion of their rights that may lead to serious complications. 

The sixth article of the decree refers to certain rights claimed to be 
stipulated by the treaty entered into between Spain and the United 
States in 1795. 

The undersigned desires to call the attention of Mr. Koberts and of 
the government of Spain to the fact that the treaty of 1795 confers upon 
neither of the contracting parties any rights on the high seas over the 
vessels of the other in time of peace. 

The articles of the treaty of 1795 from I to XI, inclusive, define 1 and 
regulate the reciprocal relations and obligations of the parties without 
reference to either party being engaged in war. The portion of the treaty 
from the Xllth article to the XVIIIth, contemplates exclusively their 
relations as neutrals, the duties and powers of each toward the other, 
when one or the other inay be engaged in war with a third party.. The 
eighteenth section recognizes and regulates the right of visit or of ap- 
proach in time of war, for the inspection of the passport and the identi- 
fication of the nationality of a vessel of commerce by the vessels of war,, 
or by any privateer of the nation which shall be at war. It confers no- 
right ; it limits and prescribes the manner of exercising a belligerent 



11G STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

right when such may exist. The clear object and intent of this provision 
of the treaty is the avoidance of dissension and annoyance, and the pre- 
vention of abuse or indiscretion in the exercise of a belligerent right. 
Its location in the treaty, the recognition of the right of a privateer 
(who has no existence except in war) as having the same power and 
right in the particular referred to with a national vessel of war, and the 
whole scope and aim of the XVIIIth article of the treaty established 
beyond possibility of question that it refers only to the rights which one 
of the parties may have by reason of being in a state of war. 

The treaty authorizes nothing but the inspection of the passport of the 
vessel of trade met with, while the 6th article of the decree of General 
de Rodas contemplates a search as to the character of the vessel beyond 
the limitation fixed by the treaty. 

If Spain be engaged in war, it is essential to the rights as well as to 
the definition of the duties of the people of the United States that they 
be publicly and authoritatively advised thereof, and admonished as to 
their obligations and liabilities in their new relation with a friendly 
power. And such admonition admits of no avoidable delay in view of 
the vast commerce that will thus be subjected to restriction, limitation, 
and possible detention. 

The undersigned, therefore, respectfully desires to be informed by Mr. 
Roberts, at the earliest practicable moment, whether, in the issuance of 
this decree, it is to be understood by the United States that Spain re- 
cognizes that she is in a state of war, and claims the right of a belli- 
gerent. 

The undersigned has the honor further to say to Mr Roberts, that the 
government of the United States cannot fail to regard the continuance 
of the decree referred to, or any exercise on the high seas near the Island 
of Cuba, by any vessel of war or privateer of Spain, of the right to visit 
or board any vessel of the United States, under color of the provisions 
of the treaty of 1795, as involving the logical conclusion of a recogni- 
tion by Spain of a state of war with Cuba. 

Before concluding, the undersigned begs to call Mr. Roberts's atten- 
tion to the very grave complication which might ensue from any inter- 
ference with a vessel of the United States engaged in a lawful voyage, 
passing near the Island of Cuba. The United States maintain the right 
of their flag to cover and protect their ships on the high seas. 

In conclusion, the undersigned expresses the hope that Mr. Roberts 
will speedily be at liberty to announce the formal abrogation of a decree 
which causes so much serious apprehension to the government of the 
United States, and against which this government feels bound, most 
earnestly, to remonstrate. 

For inolosure, see Mr. Plumb's dispatch to Mr. Fish of July 8, 1869. 



No. 78. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 

No. 83.] Havana, July 21, 1869. 

With my dispatch No. 66 of the 8th instant, I had the honor to trans- 
mit to you a copy of an important maritime decree issued by Captain 
General Caballero de Rodas on the 7th of this month. 

I have now the honor to transmit to you herewith a copy and trans- 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 117 

latiou of a decree issued under date of the 18th instant, published in 
the Official Gazette of last evening, modifying the decree of the 7th in- 
stant, by the suppression from it of the last or 6th article. 



[From the Official Gazette, Havana, July 20, 1869. — Translation.] 
SUPERIOR POLITICAL GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE OP CUBA. 

In view of the determinations adopted by the government of the United States of 
America, as reported by his excellency the minister of Spain in Washington, under 
date of the 15th instant, and which were published in the Official Gazette of the fol- 
lowing day, and in order, at the same time, to relieve legitimate commerce from all un- 
necessary interference, in use of the facilities which are conferred upon me by the su- 
preme government of the nation, I have determined to modify my decree of the 7th 
instant, leaving the same reduced to the first five and essential articles. 

CABALLERO DE RODAS. 

Havana, July 18, 1869. 



No. 79. 



Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 

No. 75.] July 13, 1869. 

# * * # # *• 

I have the honor to transmit to you herewith copy and translation of 
an important general order issued by the Captain General on the 8th 
instant, which appears published in the papers here of the 11th. 



[Translation.] 

Commanding General of the District of Mattmzas : 

His excellency the Captain General communicates to me through a circular of yes- 
terday's date the following : 

TCireular.] 

Captain Generalship op the Ever-faithful Island of Cuba, 

Chief -of -staff's Office, Fifth Section. 

The extraordinary circumstances through which we are passing, the necessity of cor- 
recting certain abuses, which, perhaps, through a badly-understood zeal, are commit- 
ted, rendering more difficult the work of pacification which I have proposed, and the 
desire that all who exercise an independent command shall conform to a common cri- 
terion, impel me to fix certain rules in .which are condensed my ideas and the line of 
conduct I propose to follow. 

"Wars are always very lamentable, but when they are civil wars they are too apt to 
take a character of unlimited ferocity, while on the part of the strongest there should 
be always generosity, indulgence, and nobility. 

It may happen that some, who, up to the present time, have been hallucinated, and 
are found among the insurgents, may present themselves to 'the chiefs of columns or 
authorities of the government. In such case, they shall be religiously respected in 
their persons and interests, and I shall exact the most strict responsibility from those 
who tolerate that they be annoyed or insulted. 

The conditions of this war of insurrection against the common country demand speedy 
and exemplary punishments, and therefore my predecessors have justly imposed capital 
punishment for those who may be apprehended with arms in hand. 

Civilization and the prestige of Spain, before the judgment of other nations, impose, 
nevertheless, the obligation of being as sparing as possible in the shedding of blood, 
and this painful extreme should only be resorted to with leaders, or men against whom 



118 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

there have been proved crimes of incendiarism or assassination, remitting the prisoners 
in other casts subject to my disposition. 

All functionaries who depend upon my authority will cause to be respected the lives, 
houses, and properties of all the inhabitants without distinction, punishing with rigor 
those who act in a contrary manner. 

No one shall be imprisoned upon mere suspicion and without having proof of the 
offense, and in case of arrest an examination shall immediately he had. 

The greatest care shall he taken that in proceeding in any manner against foreign- 
ers no legal requisite shall be omitted, for the just consideration that is due to their 
nations. 

From a consideration not well construed, acts of notorious cowardice are sought to 
be concealed. On this point I shall be inexorable, and I shall exact strict account from 
the officer who tolerates the slightest fault, and does not bring it to my knowledge, at 
the same time adopting himself such measures as the case may require, as arrest, sus- 
pension from position, &c, of those who may be guilty. 

The greater portion of the defeats and reverses which are experienced in war are due 
to carelessness, want of experience, lack of vigilance, or of punctuality. It is to be 
understood that all shall be tried by court-martial who may be surprised, who may lose 
more men than necessary in battle by their had dispositions, or who allow part or the 
whole of a convoy to be taken from them without proving that they have made every 
effort within the limits of possibility to save it. 

Lack of discipline shall be punished with all rigor, employing, when the case re- 
quires, the proceedings of verbal courts-martial, in the understanding that I shall he 
inexorable with officers lukewarm in maintaining subordination, it being understood 
that all dispositions now in force upon this subject remain in full effect. 

The chiefs shordd watch over the maintenance of their troops in order to prevent the 
lack of clothes, shoes, munitions, and useful armament. 

The troops who consume much ammunition show almost always cowardice. Let the 
soldier be accustomed to shoot little and well. 

Reports should always be true, and without containing more details than necessary 
for the exact coguizance of the facts. 

Finally, let those who perform acts of bravery be recommended, laying aside Mend- 
ships and compaternity, in the assurance that true merit will be recompensed, and the 
just aspirations of the chiefs, officers, and troops who distinguish themselves. 

I recommend to you to circulate these instructions to all the authorities dependent 
upon your jurisdiction and commanders of columns, in order that they may have the 
greater publicity, with the understanding that I shall always exact the greatest re- 
sponsibility in their compliance. 

God preserve your honor many years. 

CABALLERO. 

Havana, July 8, 1869. 

And the same is made known for the general intelligence and exact compliance. 

The Colonel Commandant General, 

DOMINGO DE LEON. 

Matanzas, July 9, 1869. 



No. 80. 
General Sicldes to Mr. Fish. 
No. 4.] Madrid, August 12, 1869. 

The niinister interrupting- me, as if he thought I had gone quite far 
enough, for the present at least, acknowledged the sincere and loyal man- 
ner in which the government of the United States had fulfilled its inter- 
national duties in regard to the Cuban insurrection. 

4fc # # # # ^ # 

In former days, when the pro-slavery party held the reins of power, 
there was some anxiety from time to time lest the recklessness of fili- 
busters should involve the two nations in difficulty; but that since the 
victory of the national cause in the great war, the liberal people of Spain 
had come to regard the United States as their natural friend. 

The Cuban question was one of the utmost gravity and delicacy. It 
was the intention of the Spanish liberals who planned and executed the 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 119 

revolutionary movements which have given to Spain its new political 
life, to make, at the earliest moment, provision for granting self-gov- 
ernment to Cuba. But this fatal insurrection broke out at the very 
moment when it was becoming possible to give to Cuba all the rights 
she desired. The cry of " Death to Spaniards " was heard in Spain, and 
it became impossible, in the face of civil war, to carry out the beneficent 
plan that had been formed. The liberal party in Spain finds itself, to 
its own infinite regret, forced into a seeming sympathy with the reac- 
tionary party in Cuba, and the liberals of Cuba, who ought to be its 
firm friends, are converted, by the fatality of the situation, into its bit- 
terest enemies. There is no sentiment dearer to the hearts of the liberal 
leaders than that of freedom to all men, yet they stand before the world, 
in this Cuban conflict, as opposed to self-government and resisting 
the abolition of slavery. He considered the insurrection as a most deplo- 
rable misfortune and mistake, both for Cuba and for Spain. 

If a way could be found to settle all these questions in such a manner 
as to do justice to Cuba, without infringing upon the honor of Spain, the 
government would be greatly gratified. There is no intention or desire 
among the liberals of Spain ever again to work (exploiter J the island of 
Cuba on the old selfish system. It has been their constant hope and 
wish to grant to the Cubans the administration of their own affairs, and 
the full fruits of their own labor, preserving their commercial connec- 
tions and some shadow of their political relations. 



No. 81. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Davis. 

No. 115.] Havana, August 18, 1869. 

# # . # # # * # 

As there appears to be a systematic effort to represent the situation 
of the insurrection on this island in an invariably favorable light, in 
certain accounts from Washington, which are spread very extensively 
through the press in the United States, which leads to the belief that 
these efforts may be used also in other ways, it may be my duty to state, 
that so far as all the information that reaches me here — and I have some 
means of learning the situation in all parts of the island — the accounts I 
have referred to are so grossly exaggerated as, it appears to me, to be 
entirely unworthy of credit. 

While I have very definite ideas as to what must be the inevitable 
final result of the struggle here, I do not believe a cause is usually well 
advanced by exaggeration, and I am very far from believing that the 
relative strength of the combatants is yet even approximate to what 
would be inferred from the statements to which I have made reference. 



No. 82. 
General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

No. 6.] Madrid, August 14, 1869. 

####### 

Mr. Silvela then entered upon a very full analysis of article 108 of 
the Spanish constitution, showing that it had two distinct and opposite 



120 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

phases in its relation to the present question ; that while by its terms it 
precluded the government from making any definitive arrangement in 
regard to Cuba until the Cuban representatives shall have taken their 
seats in the Cortes, on the other hand it authorizes the government to 
make any arrangement that might seem expedient after the Cuban 
deputies arrive. * * * * * 

Inclosed will be found * * * a copy of article 108 of 

the constitution of Spain. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE SPANISH MONARCHY. 

Section 10. — Of the Transmarine Provinces. 

Article 108. The Cortes constituents shall reform the present system of government 
in the transmarine provinces, when the deputies of Cuba or Porto Rico shall have taken 
their seats, in order to extend to the same, with the modifications which shall he deemed 
necessary, the privileges set forth in the constitution. 



No. 83. 
General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 
No. 9.] Madrid, August 20, 1869. 

To these and like amplifications of the argument, he (General Prim) 
replied with great earnestness and emphasis, " Let the United States be 
assured of the good faith and the good disposition of Spain. * * * 
Formidable as the insurrection in Cuba may become, it has not yet 
approached the proportions of any of those conflicts in which govern- 
ments have found themselves constrained to treat during hostilities. 
The Cuban insurgents hold no city or fortresses ; they have no port, no 
ships; they have no army that presumes to offer or accept battle; and 
now, before the period arrives for active operations, when Spain will send 
the ample re-enforcements she holds in readiness, it is only necessary 
for the Cubans to accept the assurance of the United States, given on 
the faith of Spain, that they may have their independence by laying 
down their arms, electing their deputies, and declaring their wish to be 
free by a vote of the people." 



No. 84. 
General SicMes to Mr. Fish. 

No. 10.] Madrid, August 21, 1869. 

* # # # # # 

The president of the council said : " There is a vast difference between 
the present insurrection in Cuba and those revolutionary movements by 
which the republics of the Western Continent gained their independ- 
ence. In those examples, negotiation was resorted to after campaigns 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 121 

had been fought, and battles lost and gained ; they bad armies in the 
field and organized governments supporting tbem. We see nothing of 
this in Cuba ; only mere roving bands, who fly when they are pursued, 
and who have never been found in numbers sufficient to give or accept 
battle. It is very possible that in the lapse of time the insurrection 
may become more formidable ; it may raise armies ; it may take cities 
and fortified places ; it may demonstrate what has not yet been- in any 
way demonstrated, that it is supported by the majority of the popula- 
tion. In that case Spain will have something tangible to treat with. 
But we hope to avoid all this bloodshed, disaster, and ruin, by making 

some amicable arrangement now." 

• » * * * * 



No. 85.. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

Xo. 12.J Madrid, August 24, 1869. 

# # # • ' * # * 

In general, I find less susceptibility to the idea of a transfer of the 
island to the United States than to the concession of the independence 
of Cuba. 

There is an apprehension that the persons and property of Spaniards 
in Cuba would not be safe under Cuban control. This impression, I 
hear, prevails in Catalonia. 



No. 86. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Davis. 

Ko. 119.] Havana, August 21, 1869. 

In the absence of any communication from the acting United States 
consul at Santiago de Cuba, relating thereto, which may have failed to 
reach me, I transmit to you the herewith unofficial information, received 
yesterday, regarding the reported murder of certain prominent citizens 
of that place'and their friends and attendants, numbering upward of 
twenty persons in all, by order, it is stated, of a subordinate officer of 
the Spanish army, on the 7th instant, while being conveyed as political 
prisoners, at or near a place called Jiguani, the chief town of the district 
of that name, situated seven leagues from the town of Bayamo, the 
headquarters of Count Yalmaseda, the commander-in-chief of the eastern 
department of this island. 

The absence yesterday and to-day of the Captain General and political 
secretary, on a visit to Matanzas, prevents me from making an inquiry 
before the departure of to-day's (Saturday's) mail, but which I shall make 
on Monday, first, in the name of humanity, whether this report is true; 
and secondly, whether, as is stated, one of the persons so murdered is a 
citizen of the United States ; and if this be true, what steps have been 
taken for the due and immediate punishment of the guilty officer or 
officers, and for the prevention of the recurrence of such acts in the 
future. 



122 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

[Iuelosure.] 
Mr. Hall to Mr. Plumb. 

Matanzas, August 18, 1869. 

From a very reliable source I have received the following statement, and although 
you have probably been informed already iu regard to the affair to which it refers, I 
have concluded to transmit it to you for communication to the department should you 
deem it of sufficient importance. My informant could not state whether the executions 
were by order of General Count Valmaseda or another of those acts of insubordination 
of the volunteers ; he is under the impression, however, that they are to be attributed 
to the latter. 

" On the 4th July, ultimo, the following gentlemen, heads of families and well known 
in St. Jago, were imprisoned at that- place, viz : Gonzalo Villar, lawyer ; Jose" Antonio 
Perez, physician, said to be a French citizen; Manuel Espin, physician, said to be a 
citizen of the United States ; Salvador Benitez, merchant ; the brothers Brune and Jos6 
Antonio Collaro, merchants ; Miguel Ascensio, employe" of the city government ; Anto- 
nio Villasana, notary public ; Manuel Fresnada, notary public. 

"The judicial investigation to which they were subjected resulted in their being set 
at liberty on the 25th. Within a day or two thereafter they were summoned to appear 
before General Count Valmaseda, aud were again arrested and imprisoned on the 28th, 
to be sent to Bayaino. Their wives and friends, belonging to the most respectable 
families residing at St. Jago, demanded of the governor, General de la Torre, some 
guarantee for the personal safety and good treatment of the prisoners, and it is said that 
6uch assurance was given by the governor to the consular corps of that place, as also 
to the families and friends of the prisoners. 

" On the 30th they were embarked on board of the Villaclara (steamer) for Manza- 
nillo, and thence proceeded to Bayamo, accompanied by several of their friends and 
servants, ten of the former and two of the latter. At Bayamo they were asked no 
questious, were treated with great consideration, and thence sent to Jiguani. At 
Jiguani they were received by the commandant of the place, and two hiuidxed troops 
forming a square. 

" The party, i. e., the before-named persons, their friends and servants, among them 
Don Manuel Benitez, brother of Salvador, a merchant of Jiguani, but a native of St. 
Jago, numbering in all upward of twenty persons, were ordered to the centre of the 
hollow square, where they were forthwith indiscriminately shot down." 

Since the foregoing was written I have seen a letter from St. Jago, dated the 13th, 
wdiich in the main corroborates the foregoing statement, but charges the act upon 
Colonel Palacibs, of the regular regiment of Antequera, who, it seems, acted entirely 
upon his own responsibility and without orders from any one. 



[Inclosure. — Translation.] 

Santiago de Cuba, August 13, 1869. 

******* 

I write you to advise of the horrible news that has spread through the town since 
the return of the Villaclara, which will take this letter. 

The facts are that on account of the departure of the prisoners Espin and Perez, 
physicians, Salvador Benitez, jr., Ascencio, the two Collaros, one of the Villasana, 
beside some intimate friends and relatives, and a son of one of the Benitez, called Lico, 
by the same steamer for Bayamo, where, it was said, the prisoners were to be con- 
fronted with an individual who accused them of being in correspondence with the 
insurgents, no guilt having been discovered in the proceedings previously instituted 
in this city ; a large number of persons went to the wharf to meet the steamer, it hav- 
ing also been rumored that she would bring back the prisoners. I leave you to imagine 
their horror when they witnessed the landing of the escort and its commander and 
heard the report of the latter, that the prisoners had been shot between Jiguani and 
an encampment called Lorma de Piedra, by order of a colonel called Palacios, of the 
regiment of Antequera, without authority of any source whatsoever. He also had 
shot, according to report, the persons who accompanied the prisoners^ they were Sin- 
foriano Alvarez, Manuel Fresuada, Lico Benitez, a mulatto servant of Perez, and even 
the horses that they rode. 

* * * * * * 

Let us proceed with the news : Firstly, it was given by some of the passengers who 
came in the steamer from Manzanillo, as follows : That it was said at Manzanillo, and 
even by the commander of the escort and the soldiers composing it, the commander 
adding that he had left them at Bayamo in good health, and had brought with him a 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 123 

testimonial letter signed by all of them ; that on the following day they were to proceed 
to Jiguani, and that after his return to Manzanillo he heard the news of the massacre, 
as before related, and of the truth of which there can be no doubt whatever. 

It appears that they were shot on the 7th instant. I have seen a letter of Lico 
Benitez to his wife, dated August 5, at Jiguani, in which he states that they had all 
arrived safely and that the prisoners had been lodged in the municipal buildings. 
Afterward one of our merchants received a letter dated the 8th from Manzanillo, from 
a brother, who states that he had been prompted to abandon Jiguani and his inter- 
ests at that place because the lives of men were not respected there ; that Colonel 
Palacios has had a Spaniard by the name of Estrada shot without the semblance of a 
trial, also a Spanish sub-lieutenant, who interposed to prevent the perpetration of such 
a crime ; the colonel's secretary, it appears, also shared the same fate for his officious 
interference ; and finally that all the prisoners sent there from Santiago de Cuba had 
been deliberately massacred. 

Thus far it appears that no official report has been received here in regard to the 
affair at Jiguani, and many persist in maintaining that it is too monstrously barbarous 
for belief. 



No. 87. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Davis. 

No. 123.J Havana, August 24, 1869. 

Beferring to niy dispatch. No. 119, of the 21st instant, and the account 
therewith transmitted of the reported murder of a number of prominent 
citizens of Santiago de Cuba, and their friends and attendants, by order 
of an officer of the Spanish army, while being conveyed as political 
prisoners, at a point a short distance from the headquarters of General 
Valmaseda, the commander-in-chief of the eastern department of this 
island, I beg now to state that, as indicated in that dispatch, I have 
had an interview to day with the Captain General for the purpose of 
making inquiries with reference to this occurrence. I regret to say that 
I find that the report, to use his own words, of such assassination, 
proves to be true. 

These prisoners were taken from Santiaga de Cuba to Bayamo, the 
headquarters of General Yalmaseda, and from there were sent by him 
to Jiguani, near which place they aud their friends and attendants, in 
all to the number of upwards of twenty persons, were, while under the 
escort of a Colonel Palacios, all shot to death by the force under his 
command. 

Upon stating to the Captain General the object of my visit he informed 
me that, so far as he knew, no citizen of the United States was among 
those who had been so executed; that the news of this event had been 
to him the most painful occurrence that had happened to him since his 
arrival here, and had caused him the most regret ; that he had been 
informed from Santiago de Cuba, after the second arrest of the individ- 
uals referred to, that there were apprehensions for their safety if sent to 
Bayamo, either there or on the road, and that he had immediately, 
on the 5th instant, sent orders that they should not be removed from 
Santiago de Cuba, and to Manzanillo ; that if they had reached that 
point they should at once be sent back to Santiago de Cuba, but these 
orders had unfortunately been too late ; that the first information that 
reached him was that the escort had been attacked by insurgents, and 
that in the encounter the prisoners attempting to escape had been 
shot ; that while such information was all that was in his possession, 
Colonel Palacios had arrived here and left by the steamer for Cadiz of 
the 15th instant. 



124 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Subsequently information, still not official, bad been received tbat not 
merely the prisoners bad been sbot but also tbeir Mends and attendants 
accompanying tbem, and tbat there was reason to believe no attack 
upon the escort by tbe insurgents had been made, as was first reported. 
Upon this information, the Captain General added, he had already tele- 
graphed to Spain requesting the apprehension of Colonel Palacios on 
his arrival there and his immediate return to this island for due trial 
and punishment. He had also sent an engineer officer of his confidence 
to fully investigate this affair with the most terminant orders and full 
powers. He could not express to me, he said, the regret and displeas- 
ure this affair had occasioned him. 

I stated to the Captain General that upon hearing of this occurrence 
I had felt it to be niy duty, as the representative upon this island of 
the government of the United States, to call upon him for such information 
as he migbt be willing or able to furnish with regard to an act of a charac- 
ter so calculated necessarily to influence the judgment not only of the gov- 
ernment of the United States but of all nations, with regard to the struggle 
now in progress here; but that I had felt confident from the judgment of 
his character my intercourse with him had led me to form, that so deplora- 
ble an occurrence could neither have had his previous knowledge nor 
the slightest sanction in any orders he had issued, and that it could not 
but meet with his highest indignation, and would receive at his hands 
prompt and severe punishment. I also added that the judgment of the 
world would be very much influenced with regard to this affair by the 
character of the proclamation issued by General Yalmaseda in April 
last, which everywhere received such strong condemnation. 

The manifestations made by General Caballero de Eodas in my inter- 
view with him were so unreserved and his expressions of regret so strong 
that I should do him injustice if I failed especially to mention this ; at 
the same time I fear that, under the circumstances now existing here, 
there is little hope that due punishment will reach the really guilty parties, 
or that any adequate security can be provided, however strong and well- 
intentioned may be the orders and purposes of the Captain General, 
that such occurrences, under the excited passions that have now been 
aroused on both sides in this struggle, may not be repeated by the acts 
of subordinate commanders. 

As yet no official information regarding this affair appears to have 
reached here. I cannot but think the acting consul at Santiago de Cuba 
must have written to me, but no letter from him later tban the 7th 
instant has reached me. 

The French consul general and the acting English consid general both 
have received private letters from their consular officers at Santiago de 
Cuba, giving an account of the affair, but no official advices. They have 
communicated information of the occurrence to their governments. 

3fc # jfc # # # * 



No. 88. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Davis. 

No., 127.J Havana, August 26, 1869. 

# * * # # # * 

This first circular of General Dulce, explanatory of the policy he felt 
called upon to adopt, was accompanied by the publication of an order 



STKUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 125 

directing the embargo of the property of Morales Lemus, and others, 
whose names were mentioned, which had been issued on the first of that 
month. 

This was followed by the publication, on the following day, of a decree, 
dated the 1st of April, requiring that all contracts for the sale of movable 
and immovable property, before being carried into effect, should be pre- 
sented for the revision of the government, and declaring null all contracts 
made without such revision. This was afterward followed by two circu- 
lars relating to the formalities of revision, and extending the same also 
to mortgages. 

In the case of movable property under the above circular, such approval 
or disapproval was to be given within twenty-four hours, and in the case 
of real estate within four days. I do not find that any complaint is 
made on the part of the merchants here with reference to the operation 
of this order, as regards the sales of the products of the country, but, on 
the contrary, the action of the government being prompt, an official 
character and countenance is thus given to the transaction, which, in 
these times, the merchants, as I am informed, consider undesirable. 

A decree was then issued on the 17th of April, creating an adminis- 
trative council for the custody and management of embargoed property, 
which was endowed with full powers in the premises. At the same time 
the members of this commission were named, and the governor of the 
city, Dionesio Lopez Eoberts, was appointed president of the board. 

By a decree issued by General Gaballero de Rodas on the 24th instant, 
Governor Eoberts has been relieved from this charge, and the Captain 
General has assumed to himself the presidency of the council, and has 
appointed asvice-president the general intendant of the treasury of this 
island, an officer who has very recently arrived here from Spain. 

But the most important of the measures of embargo is the circular 
issued by General Dulce, on the 20th of April, which in its first article 
declares comprehended in the circular of the 15th of that month, with 
reference to the embargo of the property of Jose Morales Lemus, and 
others, all individuals against whom it may be proved that they have 
taken part in the insurrection, either within or without the island, and 
whether with arms in the hand, or aiding it with arms, munitions, money, 
and articles of subsistence. 

Article second excepts from the preceding provisions those who have 
been amnestied or pardoned. 

Article third prescribes that the individuals comprehended in article 
first shall remain deprived of the political and civil rights which they 
have enjoyed under the laws, and that this resolution shall take effect 
from the 10th of October last, when the insurrection commenced at 
Yara, or from the date when it may appear that they took part in the 
preparations for the insurrection. 

And aiticle four requires that all contracts made by said individuals, 
from the dates above indicated, shall be presented for the revision of 
the government within three days subsequent to the publication of the 
circular. 

In this circular it is provided that separate proceedings shall be 
formed against each individual, and that only when proof is shown of 
the culpability of the delinquent shall the embargo of his property be 
declared. The formalities of embargo are also prescribed in this circu- 
lar. Article twenty-two states that the embargoed property shall be re- 
sponsible, in the first place, for the necessary expenses of its preserva- 
tion and working, including the current and over-due taxes ; and in the 
second place, for the payment of the debts contracted by the owner 



126 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

before the dates referred to in article three, that is, of his complicity 
with the insurrection. 

In article twenty-three it is provided that when the creditor is not 
himself a person subject to embargo he shall prove his claims before the 
governor or lieutenant governor, who shall give account to the presi- 
dent of the administrative council, in order that directions may be issued 
for payment to be proceeded with. 

The avowed purpose of these measures of embargo is to prevent the 
use, for insurgent purposes, during the continuance of the insurrection, 
of the income, products, or avails of any property situated within the 
control of the Spanish government. . 

The embargo, it is claimed, is not laid unless there is, in each in- 
stance, proof that the person against whom the measure is had has 
taken part in favor of the insurrection. 

And the Captain General has informed me, if it can be shown in any 
case that such evidence is not well grounded, the embargo will be raised, 
and any income or proceeds of property received will be returned by the 
government. It is also claimed that while the embargo may be the 
occupation of the revenue or the proceeds of property, it is not the con- 
fiscation of the property itself, which, in the case of real estate, by 
descent would still freely pass to innocent heirs ; and that it is not 
designed to affect the interests of any innocent third party. 

But while the circular of the 20th of April is in some respects retro- 
active, there is also ground for the belief that practically its dispositions 
in many instances amount to confiscation. 

This is shown by the order of the Captain General of the 3d instant, 
authorizing a new loan of six millions of dollars from the Spanish bank, 

which, in addition to the war tax and export duties, pledged as a guar- 
antee for the previous loan of eight millions of dollars, now pledges 
"the proceeds of the property embargoed of those hostilely disaffected 
to the national integrity." 



No. 89. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Davis. 

No. 129.] Havana, August 27, 1869. 

For some time past the information has been increasing that as a 
political measure in the struggle in progress upon this island, the burn- 
ing and destruction of property, and especially of houses and sugar 
estates, has been deliberately resolved upon. It now appears probable 
that this plan may very soon be extended to the richest and most largely 
producing districts. 

I need not call the attention of the department, by whom this subject, 
so far as it relates to the government and to the interests of the citizens 
of the United States, has doubtless already been considered, to the 
immense loss that by such a system of warfare will be inflicted not only 
upon peaceful industrial interests upon this island, and upon the wealth 
and importance of the island itself, but also upon the vested and exten- 
sive commercial interests here of all nations. 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 127 

No. 90. 

* 

Mr. Plumb to Mr. Davis. 

No. 135.] Havana, August 31, 1869. 

The newspapers of last evening and this morning have published a 
document, said to have been found among the papers of a captured 
insurgent leader, purporting to be a communication addressed by the 
chief insurgent authority to their different military leaders, under elate 
of the 4th of May last, containing a general basis of administration, and 
recommending certain plans for the prosecution of the insurrection, 
among which the most notable points are the destruction of towns as, a 
system, and the instigation of risings on the part of the blacks and 
Asiatics. 



[From the Diario de la Marina, Havana, August 30, 1869. — Translation.] 
We publish below one of the documents taken from the rebel leader Callejas : 

No. 132.] Office of the Secretary of State. 

On the 12th day of March the citizen C. M. de Cespedes, now President of the Repub- 
lic, and then general-in-chief of the liberating army of Cuba, and prb visional governor, 
addressed a communication to the Central Revolutionary Junta of Havana, which con- 
tained the following : 

1. The territory extending from the dividing line between Caniaguey and Sancti 
Spiritus to Cape St. Antonio, shall be divided into tbree military districts, each one 
under the command of a general directing operations, who shall have the privilege of 
appointing a second in command, and such other subalterns as he may require, sub- 
mitting said appointments to my approval. 

The first shall be called Trinidad, and shall comprise the territory between the said 
limits and the line dividing Cienfuegos from Colon. The second shall be called the 
Havana district, and shall extend to the line dividing Guanajay from San Cristobal; 
and the third shall be called the district of Pinar del Rio, and shall extend from the 
said line to Cape San Antonio. 

2. These generals shall report to me directly all operations undertaken by them, be- 
sides communicating with the Central Revolutionary Junta of Havana for whatever 
may be necessary. They shall propose to me the districts in which it may seem proper 
to divide their departments, and likewise the persons whom they may select to take 
command of the same, in capacity of commandants or deputy governors, also giving 
information thereof to the said central junta, lest the latter might have some objection 
to make. 

3. The commandants will receive instructions from the said junta with regard to all 
matters relating to their administration, and the junta will report its determinations 
to me. In case communication with that body should be cut off, they will communi- 
cate with me directly, and should this not be possible, with the chief of operations to 
whose district they belong. 

4. In each district there shall be appointed a quartermaster dependent upon the 
quartermaster general, to whom (i. e., the quartermaster general) the central junta 
shall report in order that he may inform me of the commuuications of these function- 
aries, who shall be in direct communication with the central junta aforesaid. 

The quartermasters shall appoint officers, collectors, commissaries of war, and pur- 
veyors in the manner and for the jmrposes for which provision has been made, obeying 
the orders issued by the quartermaster general, barring the exceptions which may bd 
specially required by each locality. 

5. A postal system shall be organized, postmasters shall be appointed, and the neces- 
sary post offices established. 

6. A judicial and municipal government shall likewise be organized wherever it may 
be possible. 

7. A police system shall likewise receive due attention. 

8. The system of the extinct Spanish government shall be everywhere observed, it 
being interpreted in the most liberal sense possible, until some other determination be 
reached for the future government of the Cuban Republic. 



128 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

9. The central junta shall represent this provisional government, and shall make the 
appointments belonging to it, subject to my approval, until the meeting of a congress, 
representing the people of the island in proportion to the number of inhabitants. 

10. From this time forward all liberties are established in their widest seuse, subject, 
however, to the state of war in which the public now is. 

All appointments now made shall be merely provisional, and shall impart no charac- 
ter and give no claim to any compensation until congress shall have decided upon 
what it may think proper. 

Now the C. (citizen) President Carlos M. de Cespedes, in his new capacity, consider- 
ing it exceedingly important to have that state governed in all branches of adminis- 
tration in a manner similar to the one observed in the rest of the republic, has 
determined to modify the preceding rules with reference to Las Villas (villas — literally, 
chartered towns) limiting their number to eight, iutroducing in them the changes 
given below. 

In the first the military district shall be called the district of Las Villas, and not of 
Trinidad, and shall consist of six military divisions, entitled: 

Moron and Sancti Spiritus. 

Remedios. 

Cienfuegos. 

Trinidad. 

Sagua. 

Villaclara. 

The general-chief of operations shall have the privilege of appointing a second in 
command, a chief of staff, and such other subalterns as he may require, submitting these 
appointments to the approval of the executive. 

2. The chief of operations shall no longer be required to report to the central junta 
of Havana, the said chief reporting, instead, all military matters to the secretary of 
war and to the general-in-chief of the liberating army. The chiefs of division shall 
make reports to the chief of operations, and shall receive them from their subalterns, 
requiring them if they be not made. 

Instead of a commandant, a governor of the state has been chosen ; instead of dep- 
uty governors, there shall be prefects ; and instead of district captains, sub-perfects. 
Where there are perfects, the chief of operations shall appoint military commanders ; 
the former shall attend to political (civil) and the latter to military matters. In like 
manner the governor shall attend to civil and the chief of operations to military 
affairs. 

The governor shall appoint the prefectures and sub-prefectures into which it may be 
proper to divide the country ; and as the saving of time is important, the system shall 
be inaugurated without delay, and the appointees shall discharge their functions, their 
appointments being subsequently referred to the President for his approval. 

3. This is hereby declared null and void. 

4. There shall be appointed, not a quartermaster, but a director of finance, who shall' 
communicate with aud receive his instructions from the secretary of finance only ; 
and until his appointment the civil governor of the State shall perform his duties. 
The latter, or the director of finance in his stead, shall appoint officers, collectors, 
commissaries of war, and purveyors, in the manner indicated by the article, making a 
report of the same to the proper office, with the understanding that the department of 
finance is in no way connected with that of military affairs. 

The commissaries of war are appointed solely that they may be the channel through 
which in all cases the military chiefs may ask of the department of finance what they 
may require for the army. 

5. The postal service shall be organized by the appointment of a postmaster general, 
subject to the secretary of the interior. He shall select his employes and establish 
the necessary offices, and report everything to said secretary of the interior. 

6. 7, and 8 remain unchanged. 

9 is declared null and void. . 

10 remains unchanged. 

By this latter, martial law is declared in force, w r hich notice is printed in order that 
it may be punctually observed, since we are driven to this extreme by the barbarous 
enemy whom we are fighting. 

The rules which are preserved bear the same numbers as those which have been 
suppressed. 

For the fulfillment of these orders the President has appointed as chief of operations 
C. Juan Villegas ; as chief of the division of Moron y Sancti Spiritus, C. Houorato Cas- 
tillo ; of Remedios, C. Mateo Casanova; of Cienfuegos, C. Adolpho Cavada; of Trini- 
dad, C. (C.=citizen) Frederico Cavada; of Villaclara, C. Salome Hernandez; of Sagua, 
C. Fernando Callejas. 

These individuals shall continue to occupy the rank which they have hitherto held 
in the liberating army, with the exception of Callejas, on whom the executive has con- ■ 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 129 

ferred the rank of colonel ; and when the army shall be definitively organized, their 
proper positions shall he assigned them. 

The C. Joaquin Morales has been chosen governor of the State, and the C. President 
confirms this appointment. 

The chief of operations is required to forward to me at once an exact statement of 
all the forces of the district, and of their arms, munitions, and clothing ; takino- care 
as is done by the chiefs of division, to organize his troops in battalions, companies, &c.', 
and to obtain good drill-masters to instruct them when their services are not otherwise 
required. 

We are assured that Eemedios is without any Spanish force. The C. Casanova will 
judge whether by an energetic movement it is possible to seize this place, in order to 
cause it to disappear (L e., destroy it) entirely, after having put to good use all that it 
contains, as must be done with all the towns that fall into our power, since we cannot 
hold them for lack of means, and since the enemy uses these centers as strongholds 
whence to resist and persecute us. 

It is very necessary to hasten the operations of the war, that our enemies may effect 
no concentration here, as they intend, and that they may be divided; for when they 
are divided, and thereby weakened, their annihilation and total destruction will be 
more easy. 

Let not only towns, but also strong country houses, where the enemy may desire to 
seek shelter, be destroyed with fire and the pickaxe. 

Thus the enemy will never occupy the republic, and the persecution which has been 
commenced against families therein sheltered, while he (i e., the enemy) carefully avoids 
all contact with our soldiers, will be accomplished with much greater difficulty. Let 
the arms be collected which are hidden, under whatever pretext, by private individuals 
or chiefs, for the persons holding them, who are not fit for military service, can be other- 
wise employed. Let the laborers on estates be encouraged to rise ; let serviceable 
freedmen remain in Las Villas for military service, and let others be sent to Carna°-uey 
so that their former masters may lose all hope of recovering them. The person send- 
ing them need only communicate this fact to the chief of operations, and the latter to 
the governor of the State. 

Asiatic laborers should also be taken. 

The director of finance, and now in his stead the governor of the State, is requested 
to collect all sorts of supplies, both of money and provisions, to aid the revolution and 
encourage the contraband trade on our coasts, without neglecting due vigilance in 
order that the enemy may not learn through this trade the position of those places, and 
thus cause us injury. 

Let each chief aid the others ; let them maintain fraternal harmony among them- 
selves ; let them keep up a constant correspondence ; let them report everythino- ; let 
them pass from one jurisdiction (i. e., district) to another, when the interest of the 
cause requires it ; and let them fulfill all orders in obedience to the present general 
plan, and in cases for which provision is not made let them use the discretionary 
powers with which they are invested by the executive. 

I send this to the Captain General, and hope you will be pleased to acknowledge his 
receipt of the same. " 

P. and L. Patria y libertad! Our country and liberty! 

™ a toan t ,-, , BEREOCAL. 

May 4, 1869. In the absence of the secretary, 

rr ^ n n ■, , t, THE SECEETAEY OF FINANCE, 

io the C. Colonel Fernando Callejas. 



No. 91. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Davis. 

^°- 139 -J Havana, September 1, 1869. 

I beg to transmit to you, herewith, a copy of a letter under date of 
28th ultimo, received to-day from the acting United States consular 
agent at Manzanillo. 

It contains some general information of interest, and is confirmatory 
of the assassination of the unfortunate prisoners from Santiago de Cuba, 
and their friends at Jiguani. 

* * ' * # # * 

H. Ex. Doc. 160 9 



130 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Mr. Bithm'n to Mr. Plumb. 

Manzanillo, Cuba, August 28, 1869. 

****** ** 

I am sorry to say that the political condition of this town and district remains in the 
same confused state, much to the detriment of commerce and agriculture, and with the 
great mortality among the Spanish forces, rainy weather, and bad roads, which impede 
all military operations, as well as a reluctance of the natives to show open fight, this 
unfortunate struggle, without mightier interference, threatens the utter ruin of the 
country. 

There is very little, if any, information, to he gained of military proceedings in the 
interior, although I have heard of acts of violence and barbarity, such as the massacre 
of captives without any trial, some of which came from Santiago to undergo their trial 
at Jiguani, and, as is stated, were shot, even with those who accompanied them, par- 
ticulars of which no doubt you will have learned through the United States acting 
consul at Santiago, who, I am told, together with the representatives of other nations, 
interfered in their behalf. 



No. 92. 

Mr. Lopez Roberts to Mr. Fish. 
[Translation.] 

Washington, September 18, 1869. 

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of 
Spain, to-day addresses the honorable Secretary of State of the United 
States, with the design of submitting to his judgment certain important 
considerations relative to the declaration of belligerent rights which, as 
it appears, it is intended to grant to the insurgents of Cuba. * * * 
He should fail to perform his duty as the representative of Spain in this 
republic, he would be unmindful of the great liberal cause for the triumph 
of which his government is now fighting, unmindful of the traditional 
friendship which, since 1789 until now, has united Spain to the United 
States, if he kept silence at the announcement of so important a resolu- ' 
tion. 

I do not flatter myself, on taking up this subject, to be able to present 
to your consideration any arguments which shall be new and hitherto 
unknown to you ; for my object it is more than sufficient for me to have 
recourse to those arguments furnished me by the history of North 
American politics themselves. The honorable Secretary of State is 
doubtless not ignorant of the favorable opinion which the world enter- 
tains of American neutrality, commenced by those great men Washington 
and Hamilton, during the war of the French Eevolution, which neutral- 
ity was continued afterward by Presidents Madison and Monroe, at the 
tinie of the struggle between Spain and her insurgent American posses- 
sions, and which, still later, was seen confirmed with great brilliancy in 
the recent diplomatic controversy with England, in which the Hon. 
William H. Seward, his immediate predecessor to the Hon. Charles 
Francis Adams, minister of the United States at London, and the Hon. 
Charles Sumner, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the 
Senate, did, with great intelligence and with force equal to that of the 
first-named statesmen, sustain the principles of that neutrality. 

What is the doctrine constantly defended and expounded by these 
illustrious authorities % I cannot define it better than in the following 
words of Mr. Charles Francis Adams. (See the original words of Mr. 
Adams at the end of of the Spanish document.) 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 131 

The doctrine set forth in these lines by Mr. Charles Francis Adams is 
that of all the principal statesmen of America; all believe belliger- 
ence is a fact, and not a principle ; and in support of this they say : " That 
it must be proved that the causes for making such declaration exist and 
are visible; it (belligerence) can therefore neither be imagined nor 
guessed at nor invented ; its existence must be a fact, and be recognized 
as such by the world, or at least it must be of such a nature that ft may 
be considered as a fact." And the same authorities add : " That it can- 
not be inferred from the fact that belligerence exists on land that it also 
exists at sea." " Such is the rule," says Mr. Sumner, " so simple clear and 
intelligible, as it has been established by Mr. Canning." Thus then the 
proof with regard to the facts of the causes for a declaration of belliger- 
ent rights must always precede the declaration ; belligerent rights are 
not made on presumption ; their existence must be proved. Again con- 
sidering the whole American doctrine on this important question Mr 
Eichard H. Dana has defined in the following manner the conditions 
which must precede a declaration of belligerent rights. (See orio-i na i 
texts at the end; extract from the Elements of International Law bv 
H. Wheaton.) ' J 

And why all these precautions ? The same writers on international 
law, and the most illustrious American statesmen, both tell us in the 
following terms: "If a single one of those guarantees of impartiality 
tails to exist, the element foreign to the struggle is that which should 
take part m the cause of the insurgents and give them aid." 

If belligerence is a question of fact, and not of principle, how can an 
American statesman at once renounce his country's traditions of the 
policy of neutrality in the matter of the insurgents of Cuba * 
tt 1 -?^ not ignorant of the fact that their agents and emissaries in the 
United States publicly declare the existence of an established govern- 
ment. But has the truth of this assertion been investigated ? Has an 
attempt even been made to do so ? And if it has been done, if other 
documents are possessed which do not proceed from a suspicious source 
why are they not published in the United States ? In this way it would 
•be possible to enlighten the opinion of the rest of the world, which is 
now in the most complete darkness with respect to the matter. It is cer- 
tainly not in treating with the descendants of those who signed the 
declaration of their country's independence, and conquered their freedom 
at the price of so much blood, that I must longer insist upon the condi- 
mt i a new g° Yernmeil t just establishing itself requires 
Ihe bands of rebels roaming throughout the eastern department of 
tne island of Cuba have not a single line of communication with the sea 
Where, then, are their ports, or their ships, or their prize court % The 
fertile imagination of their agents in the United States has as yet fur- 
nished no reply to these questions. 

I must now compare the policy pursued in 1861 by the Spanish gov- 
ernment toward the United . States with that which the government of 
this republic now appears inclined to put into practice with respect to 
Spam. At the outbreak of the civil war in this country, England and 
1 ranee took the initiative, granting belligerent rights to the So-called con- 
federates whom they considered as being organized. Prussia made the 
same declaration on the 13th of June. Spain could not, by reason of 
her geographical and maritime situation, longer abstain from making- a 
wX c ° nc f si ° n ^ h ?^ exposing herself to the gravest complication's ; 
«^*fr ? eCla p re f • m dom g so > t]iat s ^e desired to maintain the mutual 
Si . °l . frie 1 ndsni P Prevailing between Spain and the republic, 
these sympathies being clearly shown by the subsequent acts of the 



132 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Spanish government, which proved that its policy recognized as its base 
the most" friendly feeling toward the cabinet at Washington. This con- 
duct was so manifest that its proof is found in the diplomatic correspond- 
ence published by the federal government. 

Mr. Perry wrote from Madrid, June 19, 1SG1, to the Honorable Mr. 
Seward, as follows: (See original at the end of the Spanish paper.) 

Mr. Schurz, United States minister at Madrid, shortly afterward 
wrote to Senor Calderon Collantes, the Spanish minister of state, (July 
31 of the same year,) as follows: (See original which accompanies the 
Spanish paper.) 

If the present Spanish government is, to a certain extent, responsible 
for the political acts of the one which it replaces, much less can the 
honorable Secretary of State disregard the declarations made by his 
predecessor in the name of President Lincoln, and excuse to-day, by 
that course then appreciated in a manner so favorable for the United 
States by the President and Secretary of State, so grave a political act 
as the one in question, which cannot be explained, much less justified 
by the actual situation of Cuba. Nor can any distinction be made 
between an insurrection breaking out in an integral part of the national 
territory, and in a colony. Those publicists who have written upon this 
international point admit nothing of the kind; all adhere to the doctrine 
expressed by Vattel in the following form: 

" When a nation," says he, " takes possession of a distant territory 
and establishes a colony there, this country, although separated from 
the mother country, forms a part of the state equally with its former 
possessions." 

Therefore, neither can the American doctrine of neutrality, nor the 
precedents found in the federal policy, nor the situation of the Island of 
Cuba, nor the course pursued by Spain toward the United States, 
justify a resolution of this serious character, viz: the accordance of 
belligerent rights to the roving bands of insurgents in Cuba. 

Whence arises, then, the resolution which the federal government is 
apparently on the eve of adopting t These are questions which, with all 
due delicacy, I will take the liberty of answering in the following terms : 

First, Certain malcontent Cubans have established themselves in the 
United States, especially in New York, and these are endeavoring by 
every means in their power, not to conquer their independence by their 
own efforts, but to gain at present the-sympathies of the American peo- 
ple in order afterward to seek the aid of this government for their cause. 
The history of what has taken place in the last few months is the clearest 
proof of this. In a state of peace, it has been seen with astonishment 
that associations were publicly organized in many ports belonging to a 
friendly nation, said associations being composed of the agents of the 
insurgents, with no other object than that of directing their attacks 
against Spain. Enlistments of men have also taken place during whole 
weeks, as if the object were to form expeditions authorized by law, and 
consequently with the consent of the authorities. These emissaries have 
carried their spirit of speculation so far as to take advantage of the good 
faith of emigrants from Europe, sending them to fight in Cuba under 
command of the so-called General Jordan, and other officers who fought 
on the side of the South in the civil war. Hostile demonstrations have 
likewise been suffered to take place against a nation which in 1SG1 had 
not even allowed (in order not to wound the susceptibility of the United 
States) the title of belligerents to be given to an insurgent population 
numbering six or seven millions of whites, who occupied a third of the 
territory of the republic, and were in possession of such resources that 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 133 

they were only conquered by prodigies of valor, military talent, and 
heroic perseverance ; and, after having seen the departure of various 
filibustering expeditions in broad day-light, and unmolested, from New 
York and other federal ports, the minister of Spain finally found himself 
obliged, by the incomprehensible apathy of the authorities, to take the 
initiative in order to prevent these repeated infractions of the neutrality 
laws ; but he will not now insist on these facts, to which at the proper 
time he will call the attention of the honorable Secretary of State. 

Secondly. If the duties of every foreign power, with respect to a 
rebellion carried on against a regular and legitimate government, oblige 
said power to abstain from all participation in such rebellion, as was so 
aptly said by the Hon. Charles Francis Adams, avoiding in this manner 
the exercising of any influence on the result by the element foreign 
to the struggle, the honorable Secretary of State must have deeply 
regretted the extravagant demonstrations which have been seen in a 
large portion of the country, and which have been echoed by the press. 
He will also sincerely regret that the Cuban emissaries have gone so far 
as to compromise the reputation for impartiality (without doubt well 
deserved) of persons holding high official positions, boasting, doubtless 
without any reason, of being in possession of important confidential 
information with regard to political affairs, and to have knowledge of 
plans, the accomplishment of which they predicted with great confidence. 
"With this view, I take the liberty of calling your attention to a letter 
from Mr. Dallas, (May 2, 1861,) then minister of the United States in 
London, to Mr. Seward. (See original texts for what is designated 
above, and for Mr. Seward's reply.) 

Thirdly. Finally I am about to treat of the question of belligerent 
rights, which is the most important matter of these observations. Why 
do the Cuban agents solicit these with so much urgency ? Why do they 
not hesitate to employ calumny in order to compromise the government 
of the United States in favor of their cause ? Why do they not recoil 
(so that they may accomplish their object) at the danger of employing 
means which are punished by the laws *? The reply to these questions 
is, that the Cuban agents stand in the most pressing need of the aid of 
the United States ; that what they seek and require is the moral par- 
ticipation, at least, of the American Union in their struggle with Spain ; 
which, hitherto, has attained no proportions save those given it by the 
reports of victories of the Cuban insurgents, manufactured at Key West 
and in New York, and which, under pretext of obtaining the title of 
belligerents, only tend to cause the United States to abandon that policy, 
the strict observance of which is dictated by the law of nations as 
taught and practiced by themselves. Thus, then, before closing these 
considerations relative to the announcement of the concession of bellig- 
erent rights to the insurgents of Cuba by the United States, it seems 
fitting to me to copy, in addition, the words addressed, September 18, 
1865, by Mr. Charles Francis Adams, minister of this republic in London, 
to Lord John Russell. (See end of Spanish document.) 

The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity to reiterate to the 
honorable Secretary of State the assurances of highest consideration. 

MAURICIO LOPEZ ROBERTS. 

Hon. Secretary of State of the United States. 



134 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

flnclosurc.l 

Extract from the correspondence of the Hon. C. F. Adams, envoi) extraordinary and minister 
plenipotentiary of the United States, with Lord Russell, minister for foreign affairs of Eng- 
land, respecting the Alabama) on September 16, 1865. 

Page 155. " Whenever an insurrection against the established government of a conn- 
try takes place, the duty of governments under obligations to maintain peace and friend- 
ship with it appears to be at first to abstain carefully from any step that may hav'e the 
smallest influence in affecting the result." Whenever facts occur of which it is necessary 
to take notice, either because they involve a necessity of protecting personal interests 
at home, or avoiding an implication in the struggle, then it appears to be just and right 
to provide for the emergency by specific measures precisely to the extent that may be required, 
but no further. It is, then, facts alone, and not appearances or presumptions, that justify 
action. But even these are not to be dealt with further than the occasion demands. A rigid 
neutrality in whatever may be done is of course understood. 

Such appears to me to have been the course rigidly adhered to by the government 
which I have the honor to represent in the long struggle that took place between Spain 
and her colonies in South America. On which side of it the sympathies of the people 
were, cannot admit of a doubt, yet the respective dates which your lordship has been 
kind enough to search out and record in your note, sufficiently established the fact how 
carefully all precipitation was avoided in judging of the issue in regard to the mother 
country. 



Extract from the Elements of International Law, by Henry Whealon, LL. D. 

Part 1. — Nations and Sovereign States. 

Page 23. It is certain that the state of things between the parent state and insur- 
gents must amount in fact to a war in the sense of international law — that is, powers and 
rights of war imist be in actual exercise — otherwise the recognition is falsified, for the 
recognition is a fact. The tests to determine the question are various. 

Among the tests are the existence of a de facto political organization of the insur- 
gents, sufficient in character, population, and resources, to constitute it, if left to itself, 
a state among the nations, reasonably capable of discharging the duties of a state ; the 
actual employment of military forces on each side, acting in accordance with the rules and 
customs of war, such as the use of flags of truce, cartels, exchange of prisoners, and the treat- 
ment of captured insurgents by the parent state as prisoners of war. 



Extract of a note written by Mr. Perry to Mr. Seward, dated Legation of the United States, 

Madrid, Jane 17, 1861. 

The minister of state has to-day, while acknowledging that its provisions are in great 
part taken from the French decree, drawn my attention to the fact that he has avoided 
the use of the expression belligerents as far as possible, or any other which could be con- 
sidered as prejudging the question of right in any manner. 



Extract from a note of Mr. Schurs to Senor Calderon Collantes, dated Legation of the United 
States, Madrid, July 31, 1861. 

Sir : Yesterday I received a dispatch from the Secretary of State of the United States, 
informing me that the President has read with the greatest satisfaction the j>roclaina- 
tion of her Catholic Majesty's concerning the unfortunate troubles that have arisen in 
the United States, and it affords me the sincerest pleasure to express to your excellency 
the high sense which the President entertains of her Majesty's prompt decision and 
friendly action upon this occasion. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 135 

Extract from a note of Mr. Dallas to Mr. Seward, dated Legation of the United States, Lon- 
J don, May 2, 1861. 

He (Lord Russell) told me that the three representatives of the southern confederacy 
were here; that he had not seen them, hut was not unwilling to do so unofficially. 



Extract from a note of Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams, dated Department of State, Washington, 
J May 21, 1861. 

The President regrets that Mr. DaUas did not protest against the proposed unofficial 
intercourse between the British government and the missionaries of the insurgents. 

*********** 

Intercourse of any kind with the so-called commissioners is liable to he construed as a 
recognition of the authority which appointed them. Such intercourse would be none 
the less hurtful to us for being called unofficial, and it might be even more injurious, because 
we should have no means of knowing what points might be resolved by it. 

* * * * * * * * * * 

You will in any event desist from all intercourse whatever, unofficial as well as offi- 
cial, with the British government, so long as it shall continue intercourse of either kind 
with the domestic enemies of this country. 



Extract from the correspondence between the Hon. Mr. C. F. Adams, American minister, and 
Earl Russell, Minister for Foreign Affairs of England, respecting the Alabama, dated Lega- 
tion of the United States, London, September 18, 1865. 

*********** 
But entertaining as I do a strong impression that in the matter now at issue is 
involved a question of international comity based upon grave principles of morals of universal 
application, the decision upon which is likely to have a very wide bearing upon the future relations 
of all civilized nations, and especially those most frequenting the high seas, I feel my- 
self under the necessity of placing upou record the views of it held by the government 
which I have the honor to represent. 



No. 93. 
Mr. Fish to Mr. Lopes Roberts. 

Washington, October 13, 1869. 

The undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States, has the 
honor to acknowledge the receipt of the note of Mr. Eoberts, envoy- 
extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Spain, under date of 18th 
September, which was received on the 25th of that month, on which 
day the undersigned left Washington for a temporary absence. 

Mr. Eoberts states the object of his note to be the submission of 
" certain important considerations relative to the declaration of belliger- 
ent rights which, as it appears, it is intended to grant to the insurgents 
of Cuba." 

Mr. Eoberts does not state how or whence appears the intention, which 
in various parts of his note, with more or less force of expression, but 
always with equal and entire absence of proof, or of facts in support 
thereof, he assumes to be formed, and attributes to this government. 

It might be a sufficient answer to say, that no intention to grant bel- 
ligerent rights to the insurgents of Cuba has been announced by this 
government. It is a more perfect answer to say that no such intention 
has been reached by this government. 



136 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

The undersigned has read with interest the " important considera- 
tions" submitted by Mr. Roberts, and observes with great satisfaction 
the appreciation by that gentleman of the strict observance by this gov- 
ernment of its international obligations of neutrality; and he notices 
farther with equal satisfaction, that Mr. Roberts draws the m est of his au- 
thority in favor of the observance of those neutral obligations from the 
precedent furnished by this government, and from the diplomatic cor- 
respondence of this department and its representatives. 

Mr. Roberts, in various parts of his note, attributes to this govern- 
ment an intention which is not warranted by any declaration or act of 
the government, and which is justified only by Mr Roberts's appreciation 
of the demands made upon it, or by the unduly excited hopes of some 
and apprehensions of other persons. 

In this view he compares the policy pursued by Spain in 1861 with 
that which he assumes this government now appears inclined to put in 
practice with respect to Spain. 

The undersigned would have desired not to draw any comparisons ; 
but if one is to be drawn, it should be between the policy actually pur- 
sued by the respective governments, and not between that which has 
been adopted by Spain and that which Mr. Roberts imagines the United 
States may be inclined to put in practice. 

Referring to the concession of belligerent rights by Spain to the south- 
ern insurgents during the recent civil war in the United States, Mr. Roberts 
says it had been preceded by a similar concession on the part of Great 
Britain, France, and Prussia, and that " Spain could not by reason of 
her geographical and maritime situation longer abstain from making.") 

This concession was made by Spain on the 17th day of June, 1861, 
only sixty-six days after the assault on Fort Sumter, the outbreak of the 
rebellion, and which was the only combat or conflict of arms of which 
any account had reached Europe at the date of Spain's action in the 
matter; a single and a bloodless combat, an attack upon a handful of 
half-starved men, being the extent of war on which Spain based the 
"fact of belligerency." 

It is true that Great Britain and France may have been more precipi- 
tate even than Spain in their haste to grant belligerent rights to the in- 
surgents of the United States ; and the example of these monarchies of 
the Old World may be pleaded by the Republics of Peru, Chili, and 
Bolivia, in the New, in their proceeding towards Cuba, with the difference 
in favor of the latter, that they waited for months, instead of days, and 
until scores of conflicts had been fought, and the slain were numbered 
by thousands. 

The United States have not followed these or any similar precedents. 
When Mr. Roberts alludes to the "geographical and maritime situation 
of Spain" as presenting the necessity for her action in June, 1861, the 
undersigned is forced to admit that the geopraphical and maritime sit- 
uation of a neutral power may become a controlling consideration in de- 
ciding its attitude toward parties engaged in a civil conflict, within the 
limits of another power. The United States have felt and still feel the 
force of this consideration, in its bearing upon the pending conflict in 
C uba. But in this connection the undersigned is compelled to ask him- 
self the question, whether the scene of conflict in the southern States 
was nearer to the possessions of Spain, in 1861, than the scene of the 
present conflict is to the territory of the United. States; and he fails to 
see that the maritime situation of Spain was as intimately affected by 
the civil war in the United States, as the maritime situation of the 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 137 

United States is affected by that which rages in the neighboring Island 
of Cuba. 

The civil war in Cuba has continued for a year; battle after battle has 
been fought, thousands of lives have been sacrificed, and the result is 
still in suspense. But the United States have hitherto resisted the con- 
siderations which, in 1861, controlled the action of Spain, and deter- 
mined her to act upon the occurrence of a single bloodless conflict of 
arms and within sixty-six days from its date. 

Eiquelme, one of the ablest modern writers on international law, (one 
for whom the world is indebted to Spain,) says "that foreign interven- 
tion in civil wars may be excusable when the interest of humanity evi- 
dently requires it, or when the essential interests of a state are injured 
by the civil war of a neighboring power." No claims of humanity were 
alleged as calling for intervention in the civil war in the United States ; 
on the contrary, humanity called for the repression of a rebellion whose 
avowed object'' was the enslavement and oppression of a race. 

The undersigned has not now to remind Mr. Eoberts of the frequency 
with which, in the interest of humanity, he has been obliged to remon- 
strate against the atrocities and the cruelties which have attended the 
conflict in Cuba for the past year; and if these cruelties and this inhu- 
manity have not been confined to one party to the conflict, the force of 
the justification for intervention assigned by the eminent Spanish au- 
thority referred to has been so much the more pressing. 

The United States have not acted on this justification assigned by 
Eiquelme, nor by that other of neighborhood, although the scene of 
strife lies at their very threshold, but have acted upon their early estab- 
lished policy, under which, in the beginning of their history, in the 
absence of any municipal enactments on the subject, and in advance of 
other nations, they set the example of repressing violations of neutrality 
to the prejudice of nations with whom they were at peace. This proud 
feature in their history, and their strict adherence to it during subse- 
quent years when Spain was engaged in war with her revolted prov- 
inces, are candidly admitted by Mr. Eoberts. 

This principle has controlled their proceedings with regard to the war 
in Cuba, It does not, however, admit the indefinite protraction of a con- 
flict in a contiguous territory, such as that which has existed for the 
past year in that island — a conflict marked with cruelties and destruc- 
tion and devastation without parallel in modern civilized warfare. To 
quote again the language of Eiquelme, "Humanity and the essential 
interests of other powers may at length compel their action." 

The friendship of the government of the United States for Spain, 
unbroken during its existence as a nation, has led it to hope for a dif- 
ferent solution to the difficulties with which its ancient ally now finds 
herself involved. It still hopes and will continue to hope for such solu- 
tion. It must, however, reserve for the future its independent action as 
a sovereign power. The future of the contest, and of its conduct, will 
determine the future course of this government. 

The undersigned cannot close this note without the expression of re 
gret that a part of Mr. Eoberts's note seems to have been written under 
a misapprehension of facts that have occurred, as well as of the spirit 
and operations of a government founded upon liberal principles, and 
acting under constitutional and limited powers. 

The United States freely offer an asylum to the oppressed of all nation- 
alities; many of the subjects of Spain have availed themselves of that 
asylum; and if, as Mr. Eoberts alleges, they, or some of them, have 



138 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

abused the hospitality extended alike to all, this is not the fault of the 
United States. 

This government allows freedom of speech and of action to all, cit- 
zens or strangers, restricted only to the observance of the rights of others, 
and of the public peace. The Constitution of the United States secures 
to the people the right peacefully to assemble, and also to keep and bear 
arms ; it secures them in their persons against unreasonable search and 
seizure, and provides that no warrant shall issue but upon probable 
cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and that no person shall be 
deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. 

If certain malcontent Cubans (subjects of Spain) have misconstrued 
and abused the privileges thus accorded by a liberal government, the 
undersigned need not remind Mr. Eoberts what the occurrences daily 
reported from across the ocean are showing — that governments cannot 
always restrain their malcontent subjects or residents. Laws will be 
broken at times ; and happy is that form of government that can con- 
trol the tendency of evil minds, and restrain, by its peaceful agencies, 
the violence of evil passions. 

The undersigned is forced to admit, with regret, that an unlawful 
expedition did succeed in stealthily escaping from the United States, 
and landing on the shores of Cuba. It escaped from the United States 
without having attracted any notice or suspicion on the part of the gov- 
ernment or its officers or agents, and, as the undersigned believes, with- 
out any suspicion on the part of the agents of the Spanish government. 
Previous to its departure, Mr. Roberts had been frequently informed 
that this government would act upon any information or suggestion 
which it could obtain through its own agents, or that might be furnished 
by the Spanish authorities or their agents. 

The undersigned has, on several occasions, caused proceedings to be 
adopted on information received from Mr. Eoberts, which information 
proved to be totally unfounded. In no single instance where any 
information was received, either from the representative or the agents of 
Spain, or from the offiers of this government, or from any other source, 
indicating the probability of any unlawful enterprise against Spain or 
her possessions, has this government failed in arresting and defeating 
the objects of such enterprise. 



No. 94. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

No. 19.J Madrid, September 19, 1869. 

I inclose with this dispatch a decree organizing a commission to con- 
sider and propose within thirty days a plan of political and administra- 
tive reform for Porto Eico, including the abolition of slavery. It is 
preceded by a decree dissolving a former commission, and establishing 
another to prepare and submit forthwith the necessary changes in the 
penal code of the peninsula to make it applicable to the colonies. The 
report of the colonial minister preceding the decree in relation to Porto 
Eico is not without interest in its recognition of the cogent reasons 
demanding radical changes in Spanish colonial government, and thorough 
reforms in colonial administration. Other decrees are foreshadowed 
establishing freedom of worship in Cuba, and providing for the election 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 139 

of deputies to the Cortes; although several times announced semi-offi- 
cially as forthcoming, they have not yet appeared. 

I am assured by the President of the Cortes, that among the first 
subjects brought before that body, will be the cruel and vindictive man- 
ner in which the war in Cuba is prosecuted, and he feels confident the 
Cortes will require the most energetic measures to be taken by the gov- 
ernment to prevent hereafter the outrages which have been so justly 
denounced by the United States. Captain General Concha, Marquis of 
Duro, has likewise expressed to me his abhorrence of the treatment of 
prisoners of war and other captives in Cuba, and will move actively in 
the matter on the assembling of the Cortes, where' his high military 
reputation and personal character will exercise their just influence. 
Other prominent personages have given me similar assurance. 



[Translation.] 

Ministry of Transmarine Affairs, i. e., Affairs of the Spanish Transmarine 

Possessions. 

statement. 

Sir : By a decree of September 29, 1866, a commission was appointed, whose duty it 
was to " examine and propose a reform of the penal laws in force in our transmarine 
possessions," and also to propose " the principles and rules whereby judgments in 
criminal cases shall be governed" in those territories. 

This commission taking as its basis the penal code which is in force in the peninsula, 
and accepting as its object the application of said code in our transmarine possessions, 
has labored to facilitate the same by means of some reforms in the text. But these 
labors do not embrace the whole code, nor do they refer to the enforcement of the penal 
code, which was, and justly so, one of the principal ends for which the commission was 
appointed. 

It is important to carry out this intention, and it would be a matter of great regret, 
if, by reason of its being unduly extended, any obstacle should be placed in the way of 
its speedy accomplishment. Hence the undersigned minister is of opinion that the 
duties of the aforesaid commission being considered at an end, another should be 
appointed to examine and propose the various reforms and modifications whereby our 
penal code may be applied to our various transmarine territories, and at the same time 
to prepare a provisional law for the application of the code, deferring the elaborate 
preparation of a law for judicial procedure until some future time. 

In this manner, limiting its task to the examinatien of the common penal law and 
to the form of its immediate application, the committee will be able to accomplish this 
as speedily as the government of your highness and our brethren beyond the sea desire 
and need. 

With these considerations, the undersigned minister has the honor to submit to the 
approval of your highness the accompanying plan of a decree. 

The Minister of Transmarine Affairs, 

MANUEL BECERRA. 

Madrid, September 10, 1869. 



In accordance with the suggestion of the minister of transmarine affairs, made with 
the approval of the council of ministers, I decree as follows : 

Article 1. The commission which was appointed by the decree of September 29, 
1866, to examine and propose reforms in the penal laws in force in the transmarine 
possessions in Spain, is hereby dissolved. 

Art. 2. Another commission is appointed in its stead, to consist of a president, five 
voting members, and a secretary, who shall have the right to vote, and it shall be the 
duty of said commission : first, to propose as speedily as possible such alterations as 
may be necessary in the penal code now in force in the peninsula, in order to apply the 
same to the various Spanish territories lying beyond the sea ; secondly, to prepare like- 
wise, with all speed, a provisional law for the application of the same code ; thirdly, 



140 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

to examine and propose the basis of a law for judicial procedure iu criminal cases for 
the said territories. 

Art. 3. The ministry of the trausmariue affairs will furnish the commission with 
the data and information which it possesses, and will further give the necessary orders 
for the execution of this decree. 

Done at Madrid, September 10, 1869. 

FRANCIS. SERRANO. 
The Minister of Transmarine Affairs, 

Manuel Becerra. 



STATEMENT. 

Sir: The day being at hand for our legislative body to renew its labors, and the le- 
gitimate representatives of Porto Rico being now present in the metropolis, the time 
has arrived for the fulfillment of the just duty aud of the solemn obligation imposed 
upon us by the September revolution toward the Spaniards beyond the sea. 

Spain is not limited to the peninsula which is bounded by the Mediterranean and the 
Atlantic. The community of race and traditions, which is manifested by a common lan- 
guage and a glorious history never tarnished by disloyalty, clearly shows that nations 
are made principally by means of moral bonds of union far stronger than misfortune and 
errors. If governments that distrusted the national spirit by which they disdained to 
be actuated, hoped more from the always doubtful efficacy of external and violent means 
than from the attractive virtue of national solidity, never appealed to in vain among 
our people, it is now time to seek in the free manifestations of the aspirations of all 
that potent union and that dauntless courage whereby we may recover the position 
which history claims for us, and which of right belongs to us in the council and assem- 
bly of enlightened nations. Sovereign Spain cannot deprive any of her members of 
that portion of sovereignty which is their due. 

The revolutionary movement, therefore, was very soon made in our transmarine pos- 
sessions, and»gave rise to legitimate as well as encouraging hopes. But iu an unfor- 
tunate hour, by reason of inveterate feelings of distrust; by reason of the excessive ex- 
aggeration of past offenses; perhaps, also, by reason of inordinate aspirations, this 
movement, which ought to have been as measured as regular, and as productive of 
good as in the peninsula, stepped beyond the limits within which it should have con- 
fined itself, raising the flag of rebellion in Cuba to violate the sacred integrity of the 
Spanish nation. 

In presence of such a danger, the honor of the country, the duty of the government, 
the vital interests of the revolution, peremptorily demanded the defense of the terri- 
tory, and as a consequence of the state of hostilities, the much to be regretted but neces- 
sary postponement of reforms, so that these might not be confounded with timorous 
and arbitrary reforms of past times, nor fail to appear solemnly consecrated by the ac- 
tion and free consent of all interested in them, thus strengthening with firmer bonds 
than those of force — the lasting union of Cuba and Spain. 

But if such invincible obstacles temporarily prevent the Spanish revolution from 
exercising its political influence in the most precious of our Antilles, this is not the 
case in Port Rico, and the government being free from the well-founded apprehension 
which the state of affairs in Cuba causes it to entertain with respect to that island, 
when the question is to radically change the political and social system there prevail- 
ing, it is proper to show how energetic, honest, and sincere is its desire to admit the 
colonies to the full enjoyment of their rights, and to an untrammeled participation in 
the great conquests of modern civilization. 

A deplorable and pertinacious tradition of despotism, which if it could ever be justi- 
fied, is without a shadow of reason at the present time, intrusted the direction and 
management of our colonial establishment to the agents of the metropolis, destroying 
by their dominant and exclusive authority the vital energies of the country, and the 
creative and productive activity of free individuals. 

And although the system may now have improved in some of its details, the domi- 
neering action of the authorities being less felt, it still appears full of the original error, 
which is upheld by the force of tradition, and the necessary influence of interests 
created under their protection, (i e. that of the authorities,) which doubtless are deserv- 
ing of respect so far as they are reconcilable with the requirements of justice, with the 
common welfare, and with the principles on which every liberal system should be 
founded. 

A change of system, political as well as administrative, is therefore imperatively 
demanded. To declare and respect the inalienable rights of persons, municipalities and 
provinces, to seek to bring about administrative centralization, allowing the Avidest free- 
dom of action to municipal boards and provincial deputations, as legitimate, immediate, 
and direct organs and representatives of the people electing them ; to simplify the com- 
plicated mechanism of the superior administration, restoring to those natural centers 



•STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 141 

the powers which of right belong to them, and as a political guarantee of still greater 
importance, firmly to establish the public representation at one time near the colonial 
government, at another near that of the metropolis, or in both at once, if it should be 
possible and necessary — such is, in brief, the general intention of the undersigned 
minister. 

But in order that these intentions may be duly fulfilled and that these results may 
be felt by all alike, it is indispensable to solve one of the most difficult social prob- 
lems at once the danger and the glory of our epoch. Errors arising from a false view 
of life sacrificed, for more than three centuries, the personal liberty of thousands of 
beings to the idea of preparing for them a greater degree of happiness after death. 
Mistaken notions of economy were joined to these, seeking in forced labor that wealth 
and production which are found far more abundantly on free labor. But neither do the 
eternal laws of morality, which permit not even a good end to be attained through un- 
just means, nor does the mission of the state, which as the supreme organ of right ought 
to respect it (i. e., right) under all circumstances and above all interests, permit the 
existence of slavery, with its horrors and dangers, to continue any longer without an 
act of immorality and injustice. This was recognized by the commissioners appointed 
to propose political, social, and economical reforms in Cuba and Porto Rico, without 
for this reason forgetting, as the undersigned likewise will not forget, the just respect 
due to material interests, created under the protection of ancient institutions and laws. 
No progress, no advancement of humanity, is ever accomplished by an absolute disre- 
gard of a previously existing state of things, unjust though this may have been, for 
notwithstanding its unjustice,it has given rise to human relations, the consideration of 
which it is neither right nor prudent, much less politic, to lay aside, thereby reaching 
a solution which will only be productive of lasting disturbances. 

Besides this, the serious difficulties presented by every social change ; the discretion 
with which liberty should be accorded to persons whom it was considered a crime to 
call human beings, and for whom labor has been a permanent sign of servitude, disap- 
pear almost entirely where the white and civilized population is much more numerous 
than the colored, and where the majority of the latter have been able to earn a subsist- 
ence, and even competence and wealth, by free labor, which experience &I3 well as the 
teachings of economical science has shown to be the most beneficial and productive. 

In order happily and speedily to effect these important changes, which "notwith- 
standing the urgent call for them must receive serious and conscientious study, the 
undersigned proposes to your highness the appointment of a commission composed of 
personsof high character and having a knowledge of the real necessities of the country, 
who in a brief and determinate space of time, but not sufficient for those who must 
already have formed their ojnnions, shall propose such reforms and plans as may be 
necessary to harmonize the social political, and administrative situation of the island 
of Porto Rico, with the imperative demands of justice and morality, and, as far as 
possible, with the principles laid down in the democratic constitution of the Spanish 
nation, which ought to be applied as soon as possible to those remote countries. 

With the foregoing considerations the undersigned has the honor to submit to the 
approval of your highness the accompanying plan of a decree. 

MANUEL BECERRA, 
Minister of Transmarine Affairs. 

Madrid, September 10, 1869. 



In view of the statements made by the minister of transmarine affairs, with the 
approval of the council of ministers, I decree as follows : 

Article 1. A commission is hereby appointed, whose duty it shall be to discuss and 
propose to the minister of transmarine affairs the principles in accordance with which 
shall be made all plans of laws for political and administrative reform and for the 
abolition of slavery in the island of Port Rico. 

Art. 2. The commission shall consist of a president, (and the minister of transmarine 
affairs shall act in this capacity,) of fifteen voting members, and the under-secretary of 
the ministry, who shall act as secretary, with voice and vote. The voting members 
shall elect the vice-president. 

Art. 3. The commission shall remain in office for thirty days precisely from the 
moment of entering upon the discharge of its duties, which shall take place three days 
after the publication of the present decree. 

Art. 4. The ministry of transmarine affairs will furnish to the commission such data 
and information as it may possess, and the necessary orders will be given for the execu- 
tion of this decree. 

Done at Madrid, September 10, 1869. 

FRANCISCO SERRANO. 

The Minister of Transmarine Affairs, 

Manuel Becerra. 



142 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

No 95. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 

Havana, September 1G, 1869. 

I find that there was published here in the "Diario de la Marina," of 
the 14th of July last, the only version of the insurgent constitution which 
I have seen or known of appearing in the Spanish papers of the island. 

qp ir ' ir ¥ <ir ?£ 3r 3E* 

In this constitution, as so published, it appears by article 24 that "All 
the inhabitants of the republic are entirely free," and so is in harmony 
with the previous proclamations referred to in Mr. Hall's and Mr. La 
Eeintrie's dispatches. It does not appear to me to be likely that any 
other copies than that I now send of the constitution, and those sent by 
Mr. La Reintrie and Mr. Hall of the proclamations issued, can have been 
published here, that are any differently worded with reference to slav- 
ery; for these, in the manner in which they have been procured, ap- 
pear to have been designed for circulation on the island rather than 
especially to be sent abroad. 



[Diario cle la Marina, Havana, July 14, 1869. — Translation.] 

The Bandera Espanola, of Santiago de Cuba, publishes a curious document, which is 
said to have been found in Del Gallo street, copied on a half sheet of paper, toru at the 
creases "where it had been folded, dirty and greasy. It is nothing less than the " Con- 
stitution of the Cuban Republic," and is as follows : 

"CUBAN REPUBLIC. 

"Political constitution ivMch shall remain in force during the war of independence. 

"Article 1. The legislative power shall reside in a house of representatives. 

"Art. 2. Each of the four States into which the island is henceforth divided shall be 
equally represented in this house. 

"Art. 3. These States are : Oriente, Caniagney, Las Villas, and Occidente. 

"Art. 4. Only citizens of the republic, above twenty years of age, can be represent- 
atives. 

"Art. 5. No representative can hold any other office under the republic. 

"Art. 6. When a vacancy shall occur in the representation of any State the executive 
of the same shall prescribe measures for a new election. 

"Art. 7. The house of representatives shall appoint the president, vested with the 
executive power, the general-in-chief, the president of the sessions, and its other offi- 
cers. The general-in-chief is subordinate to the executive, aud must make reports to 
him of his operations. 

"Art. 8. The following persons shall be impeached before the house of representa- 
tives, if occasion therefor arise : The president of the republic, the general-in-chief, 
and the members of the house. This impeachment may be made by any citizen ; if the 
house find it worthy of attention it shall submit the party impeached to the judicial 
power. 

"Art. 9. The house of representatives may depose at pleasure the functionaries whose 
appointment belongs to it. 

"Art. 10. The legislative enactments of the house require, in order to become valid, 
the sanction of the president. 

"Art. 11. If they do not obtain it they shall be returned to the house for further de- 
liberation, when the objections presented by the president shall be considered. 

"Art. 12. The president is obliged to give or refuse his approval to any law which 
shall be proposed within ten days. 

"Art. 13. Any resolution (law) having been passed by the house a second time, the 
president shall be obliged to sanction it. 

"Art. 14. The following shall always be matters to be settled by law : Taxes, public 
loans, the ratification of treaties, the declaration and conclusion of Avar, the authoriza- 
tion of the president to grant letters of marque and reprisal, the raising and maintain- 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 143 

ing of troops, the providing and sustaining of a, fleet, and the declaration of reprisals 
against an enemy. 

"Art. 15. The house of representatives declares itself in permanent session from the 
moment when the representatives of the people shall ratify this fundamental law until 
the close of the war. 

"Art. 16. The executive power shall reside in the president of the republic. 

"Art. 17. Any one, in order to he president, must he at least thirty years of age and 
have been born in the island of Cuba. 

"Art. 18. The president may make treaties, with the ratification of the house, (i e., 
subject to the ratification of the house.) 

"Art. 19. He shall appoint ambassadors, public ministers, and consuls of the republic 
in foreign countries. 

"Art. 20. He shall receive ambassadors, take care that the laws be faithfully exe- 
cuted, and send his dispatches to all officers of the republic. 

"Art. 21. The secretaries of the government (of state, &c.) shall be nominated by the 
president and appointed by the house. 

"Art. 22. The judicial power is independent, its organization shall be the object of 
a special law. 

"Art. 23. In order to become an elector the same conditions are required as in order 
to be elected. 

"Art. 24. All inhabitants of the island are entirely free. 

"Art. 25. All citizens of the republic are considered as soldiers of the liberating army. 

"Art. 26. The republic recognizes no dignities, special honors, or privileges. 

"Art. 27. Citizens of the republic shall receive no honors or distinctions from a foreign 
country. 

"Art. 28. The house cannot assail religious liberty, the freedom of the press, the right 
of petition, nor any other inalienable right of the people. 

"Art. 29. This constitution may be amended whenever the house shall unanimously 
so determine. 

"This constitution was voted for in the free town of Guaimaro, on the 10th of April, 
1869, by the citizens Carlos M. de Ce"spedes, president of the constituent assembly, and 
the citizen deputies, Salvador, Cisneros, Betancourt, Francisco Sanchez, Miguel Betan- 
court Guerra, Ignacio Agramonte Ceiman, Antonio Zambrana, Jesus Eodriguez, An- 
tonio Alcala, Jose Izaguirre, Honorato Castillo, Miguel G6ronimo Gutierrez, Avendio 
Garcia, Tranquilino Valdes, Antonio Lorda, and Edwardo Machado Gomez." 

The Bandera Espanola adds : 

"It is said to have been voted for by the citizen Carlos M. de C6spedes, (the Most 
Excellent is here wanting; what irreverence!) and the citizen deputies, &c. We are 
not informed, however, nor do we know, nor does any one know, where, when, or how 
the voting took place in the various towns of the island, in order to elect these gentle- 
men, who, as the constitution says, are called deputies. Of what districts, of what de- 
partments, of what towns are these citizen deputies the representatives ? Who elected 
them ? Who gave them the right or authority to palm themselves off upon the country 
as representing the opinion of the majority? Heaven help us! Everything done by 
our revolutionists must be something absurd and ridiculous." 



No. 96. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 

No. 156.] Havana, September 20, 1869. 

During the past few weeks much popular interest has been manifested 
here in the formation of a volunteer reserve corps, to embrace all who 
are not now enrolled in the existing organization of volunteers, and es- 
pecially those men of position whose action in taking a stand or refrain- 
ing from doing so is calculated to influence public sentiment, and whose 
adherence usually weighs largely in the moral determination of any cause. 

There is much expression, also, of the feeling that the time has now 
come when all must define their position, and must take sides one way 
or the other; that those who are not now openly and fully for the pres- 
ervation of this island to Spain are to be classed with the adherents of 
the insurrection, and are to be treated accordingly. 

A memorial, embracing the projected organization of this reserve 



144 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

corps and the preliminary steps regarding it, has been addressed to the 
Captain General, and has received and is now receiving the signatures 
of a large class of influential men, whose names have not before ap- 
peared on one side or the other, but who now, whether willingly or not, 
commit themselves to the side of the maintenance of Spanish authority. 



No. 97. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 

No. 159.] Havana, September 21, 1869. 

There are some signs of the times which attract the eye of the care- 
ful observer here, which are deserving of more than a passiug notice. 
One of the most notable is that the people of this island — and to a great 
extent Havana is to the island what Paris is to France — the people, 
especially of Havana, now read the newspapers ; they therefore think 
upon current events. 

There are ten thousand young men and of middle life, in this city 
alone, enrolled and armed as volunteers. They feel now that they are 
a part of the body politic, and they want to know what is said about 
that, about themselves. They, therefore, now read the newspapers. Bead- 
ing gives rise to discussion and to thinking, and thinking will some day 
lead to action. 

It is therefore important to know what ideas are thus daily read, what 
is permitted to be read here, for heretofore there has been a rigid, and 
there still is a government censorship. 

The popular organ of the volunteers is the Yoz de Cuba. That paper 
in its issue of yesterday told its readers, and it was permitted to do so, 
that it is now not alone the newspapers of the United States that urge 
the cession to the United States by Spain of one of its most important 
provinces, nor yet the Times of London, La France, and La Patrie of 
Paris, nor is it alone the republican j)apers of Madrid, accustomed to 
overlook all in their realization of their exaggerated theories, but it is 
also thoroughly Spanish, and at the sam» time conservative publications 
of high standing, and which exercise a great influence over public opin- 
ion, organs of parties, and even as it is said of entire provinces that have 
immense interests in the island of Cuba, that now counsel Spain to the 
sale or cession of this island to the United States. 

It then proceeds to refer to the Diario de Barcelona, which, it states, 
from its age, its influence, the moderation and practical good sense which 
distinguishes it, is read with interest in all the Catalan provinces, in 
much of the rest of Spain, and also abroad, where it has reason to know 
it is highly appreciated — and it states that this paper in a recent article 
emits the following conclusion : 

"In our judgment no other resource remains to us but to open nego- 
tiations with the United States for the cession to them of our Antilles." 

The Voz de Cuba, of course, proceeds to combat this view, which it 
characterizes as absurd ; but the notable fact is that the publication of 
such an opinion as this and its open comment has now been reached in 
Cuba. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 145 

No. 98. 
General Sickles to Mr. Fish 

No. 22.] Madrid, September 25, 1869. 

******* 

In answer to my question about the volunteers, lie (General Prim) said 
that the government did not propose to have a repetition of the scenes 
which took place in the time of General Dulce. 

I expressed my gratification at this information, and hoped that the 
government had also taken measures to prevent those barbarous and 
cruel executions that had hitherto marked the progress of the war. 
This was one of the causes that most embarrassed the government of the 
United States, as the sufferers in these outrages were not only the Cuban 
insurgents but also Americans, and, in many instances, persons entirely 
innocent of any participation in the insurrection. 

General Prim stated that he had given very severe and positive orders 
on that subject to the Captain General, that these scandalous scenes 
should be prevented at all hazards ; and that General de Eodas had 
answered, avowing his intention of putting a stop to such occurrences, 
and of resorting to the punishment of death, if necessary, to accomplish 
this. 

I said I would beg to commend to the consideration of the Spanish 
government the propriety of adopting the system of cartel, and treat- 
ment of prisoners according to the rules of ordinary warfare ; that this 
would at once divest the war of its savage character, and make more 
practicable the projects of pacification which the government enter- 
tained. 

General Prim said that it was necessary to proceed gradually and 
surely. The government was now occupied with various decrees carry- 
ing its liberal policy into effect in Cuba. A decree would soon be issued 
initiating the gradual abolition of slavery, by giving freedom to all 
negroes born after date. The government would also soon announce a 
plan of administration and municipal reform for Cuba ; all this without 
waiting for the termination of the war. * * 



No. 99. 

[Telegram.] 

General SicMes to Mr. Fish. 

Madrid, September 25, 1869. 
* * * * * *-* 

Measures already taken to disarm volunteers simultaneously with ces- 
sation of hostilities. Severe and positive orders given to stop the scan- 
dalous execution of captives, and like cruelties. General de Eodas prom- 
ises to do so at all hazards. 

A decree will be promulgated forthwith for the gradual abolition of 
slavery. Government will proceed with liberal reforms, without wait- 
ing for termination of war. * * * 
n. Ex. Doc. 160 10 



146 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

No. 100. 

[Confidential.] 
Mr. Davis to Mr. Plumb. 

;No. 46.] Washington, September 28, 1869. 

We get information from Madrid that measures have already been 
taken there to disarm the volunteers in Cuba simultaneously with a 
proposed cessation of hostilities, and that severe and positive orders 
have been given to stop the scandalous execution of captives, and like 
cruelties, and it is further said that General de Eodas promises to do so 
at all hazards. The same day that this information came by cable, a 
dispatch was received from you announcing the promotion of General 
Valmaseda, the perpetrator of the worst of the cruelties, and the infor- 
mation contained in your No. 156, also, would seem to indicate that the 
information from Madrid may be correct. 

We are also informed from Madrid that a decree will be projected 
forthwith for the immediate abolition of slavery, while the general tenor 
of the information from Cuba is the other way. 

It is of great importance that the department should know at an 
early date how far the news from Madrid can be depended on. You 
will, therefore, please ascertain, so far as you can do so without excit- 
ing suspicion, whether the purposes of the cabinet at Madrid in theso 
important respects are known in Cuba, and whether they are, or can be, 
carried out. I need not point out to you how delicate an investigation 
this is; how sensitive the Spanish authorities may be at even the insti- 
gation of an inquiry; how important it may be for them that the matter 
should be kept a profound secret until they are ready to act; nor how 
cautiously you must move in taking any steps under these instructions. 
Indeed I should hardly feel justified in giving you any instructions on 
so delicate a subject, were it not that the late public news from Cuba — 
later than any dispatches from you — seems to indicate that there is 
some movement going on under the surface, which has not yet been 
made public. * * * * 



No. 101. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Davis. 

[Confidential.] 

No. 193.] Havana, October 21, 1869. 

I had the honor to receive on the 6th instant your dispatch, No. 46, 
of the 28th ultimo, marked confidential. 

Since its receipt I have endeavored, so far as has been practicable, to 
obtain further information in addition to that previously derived from 
my intercourse with officials here and from other sources upon the 
several points with regard to which you make inquiry. 

What I can now say in reply must necessarily be in the form of my 
general conclusions based upon such information, and upon a careful 
study of the situation here. 

With regard to the first point of your inquiry, the disarmament of the 
volunteers, I have no hesitation in saying that, whatever may be tfie 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA- 147 

desire that to some extent may naturally be entertained by the existing 
government of Spain in that regard, the execution of such a measure is 
at present impracticable, and is, I think, so regarded by all the repre- 
sentatives here of Spanish authority ; and there are many reasons to 
believe that no time will arrive, while this island shall remain connected 
with Spain, when such a measure will become practicable. 

That organization appears now to be a permanent power in this island, 
and has to be taken into account in any political calculations regard- 
ing it. 

In the deposition of General Dulce, it was disloyal to the authority of 
the home government. To-day it is devotedly loyal to the preservation 
of the connection between the island and Spain ; and there is little doubt 
it is due to the presence of this organization, in the early part of the 
present year, and since, that the island has been saved to the mother 
country. This organization now numbers probably upward of forty 
thousand men, well organized, armed, and equipped, and now consider- 
ably accustomed to the exercise of arms. They hold all the ports and 
all the towns, and they have a stake and interest to defend, for they are 
residents here; they are connected with the commerce and industry of 
the island, and they expect and desire to remain here. They are not 
government .employes. Their officers are generally men of some posi- 
tion and wealth, as are also very many in the ranks. They have no idea 
of submitting to, or being ruled by, the Cuban portion of the popula- 
tion. It may be doubted whether all the Cubans in arms within the 
island number half as many ; nor have they the means, the organization, 
or the arms of the volunteers. 

The entire government force that will be here, should all the promised 
re-enforcements arrive, will not be equal in numbers to the volunteers, 
and the former soon fraternize with the latter. To attempt to disarm 
them, therefore, might inaugurate another civil war. The government 
in Spain must rely either upon the Cubans or upon the Spanish residents. 
It is hardly probable it would now leave the latter to unite with the former. 
Under more liberal institutions, after the insurrection shall have been 
put down, it is believed that both may again be united. 

To the power of the volunteers, as an armed force, there is now added, 
co-operating with it, another species of organization, ostensibly for purely 
patriotic, that is Spanish, purposes, which is known in this city as the 
"Casino Espaiiol," or Spanish Club; in the city of Matanzas by that of 
"the National Conservative Committee of Matanzas," and in other towns 
by similar local names. These organizations are as potent in their 
sphere as were our loyal Union leagues during the war. If they are not 
now, they may at any time become, powerful political organizations. 

The expenses of the very re-enforcements now being sent to the island 
from Spain are borne, in great part, by voluntary contributions from 
here, toward the raising of which, those who compose these organiza- 
tions have largely contributed. 

Under these circumstances, I do not Avell see how the design referred 
to can be entertained by the government of Madrid, except as a desired 
and remote possibility, and that to the Captain General here it must be 
irksome to feel that he has constantly to defer, or hold in account the 
prejudices and the power of the volunteers, especially as affects his 
action in the remoter points and interior of the island. Any one in his 
place — any successor of a Captain General deposed by that influence — 
must feel, as well as the government whose representative was so set aside, 
a desire to draw the reins upon an organization become so powerful. 
But whether this can be done, and when, are questions that certainly 



148 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

have to give place to the first and more immediate issue — that of put- 
ting down the insurrection. 

With regard to a simultaneous proposed cessation of hostilities, the 
point has evidently to be considered only in its latter aspect. 

I cannot learn that any such intention is entertained here, nor is there 
anything in the nature of the situation that appears to render such a 
measure probable or practicable. 

There is some reason to believe that considerable numbers of the in- 
surgents are submitting, and I think it is believed that the time is near 
at hand when the insurgents will have to be dealt with mainly in that 
light, and, except with reference to the leaders, there appears to be a 
disposition to observe a policy of clemency. Any idea of a cessation of 
hostilities, looking to any other end than the submission of the insur- 
gents, would, apparently, be scouted under the present circumstances, 
and might be dangerous. 

That the enlightened and liberal men who are now at the head of the 
government of Spain are sincere in wishing well to this island ; are will- 
ing to concede to it all desirable reforms, and that the instructions which 
have been issued to the representative here seek to stay the effusion 
of blood, I most sincerely believe, and I also believe that General Ca- 
ballero de Eodas, and those who are now more immediately associated 
with him in the government of this island, second these desires, and 
will endeavor to carry them out, but much must be left to their discre- 
tion, and the full character of all the peculiar and exceptional circum- 
stances now existing here can hardly be appreciated at Madrid, or else- 
where abroad. 

I have had no occasion whatever to doubt the good intentions of Gen- 
eral Eodas, but the circumstances with which he has to deal may in some 
cases be stronger than his present power to overcome them. 

A communication from the minister of ultramar addressed to the Cap- 
tain General of this island, containing instructions relating to the con- 
duct of the war here, in the sense of the information received by the 
department, appears to have been published in Madrid since the date of 
your dispatch, and has doubtless been communicated to the department 
by the legation there. 

I do not doubt General Bodas's entire willingness to act in accordance 
with such instructions. 

With reference to the question of slavery, I have found but one opin- 
ion here, and that is, that its abolition is now a question only of whether 
it shall be immediate, or extend over a period of, say, five or more years. 
I think the opinion is almost universal that it would be safer for all in- 
terests that the measure should be made gradual, freeing at once all 
born hereafter, and, by a system of regulated labor, accomplishing total 
emancipation within a brief term of years. 

There is also opposition to the question being touched until the depu- 
ties from this island cau be heard in the Cortes regarding it, and there- 
fore a belief that it should be deferred until the insurrection shall have 
been put down. 

One of the largest, if not the largest, slaveholder on the island, in 
conversation with me some time since, stated that he would be entirely 
willing to accept abolition effected in a term of five years, and I have 
met no one yet who does not admit the measure, if accomplished in this 
manner, to be not only necessary but desirable. 

But I do not find any expression of belief in official quarters that a 
leclaration of immediate, total abolition would be practicable, and I can 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 149 

hardly think the government of Spain designs to treat the question in 
that way. ■ 

With tranquillity here, and as a measure to be accomplished within a 
period of five or eight years, I do not think the question of the abolition 
of slavery on this island would present any serious difficulties, nor would 
it in this" manner be attended, it is believed, with any great disturbance 
of the labor or the production of the island. 

There certainly does not exist here now any extended belief in the 
possibility of the preservation of the institution, and the character of 
the present government of Spain would appear to render its early ter- 
mination certain, so far as may depend upon action from that quarter. 
By immediate abolition, as referred to in your dispatch, may be meant 
the freedom of all born after the date of the decree, as also, perhaps, 
total emancipation within a brief period. Instantaneous abolition, while 
it might, if there is tranquillity, not be so destructive to labor here as it 
is elsewhere, would yet, it is believed, create great apprehension and 
disorganization, as also political dissatisfaction. 

* * # * ■ * 

On that occasion I inquired of General La Torre, putting the question 
to him directly, how many foreigners, from all the sources of informa- 
tion he had had, he thought there now were in the ranks of the 
insurgents within the eastern department. He replied, without any 
hesitation, that he did not believe the number exceeded ninety or one 
hundred. 

All of the information I have received tends to confirm the correct- 
ness of this statement. I doubt if the total number within the island 
exceeds one hundred and fifty. 

... *. Jk * 



No. 102. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 

No. 167.] Havana, September 27, 1869. 

Mr. Hall, United States consul at Matanzas, has transmitted to me 
what purports to be a copy of a circular issued on the 10th instant by 
the governor of Matanzas'to the commanders of the different corps of 
volunteers within that jurisdiction, relating to the arrests made, and 
other unauthorized powers assumed by the volunteers from which there 
is too much reason to believe there is resulting a most undesirable state 
of affairs, not only in the vicinity of Matanzas, but in many other local- 
ities on the island. 

I beg to inclose to you a translation of this document as so received 
herewith. 

As illustrative of these violent and unauthorized proceedings, I fur- 
ther transmit to you herewith, a Copy in English, which I have also 
received from Mr. Hall, of what purports to be a detailed narrative of 
the action of the volunteers in the special case referred to by the gov- 
ernor of Matanzas. 



150 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

CIRCULAR OF THE GOVERNOR OF MATAXZAS TO THE DIFFERENT COMMANDERS Ol'' THE 

CORPS OF VOLUNTEERS. 

[Translation.] 

On assuming charge, on my return to this city, of the dispatch of the affairs of the 
commandancy general, I have found a legal process, already decided, instituted to ex- 
amine the antecedents of a certain Don Francisco Rodriguez, who wa-s arrested on the 
night of the 1st instant, by the volunteers of company two of the third battalion — Don 
Matias Maroto and Don Vicente Clarens. 

I have examined with the same care with which I customarily examine this class of 
proceedings, and it appears to be proved that the civilian Rodriguez is an inoffensive 
old man, without any antecedents which appear to his prejudice. 

It is also proved that the individuals who arrested him proceeded to do so of their 
own volition, without the knowledge of the authorities, without the presence of any 
agent of the same, and upon mere presumption, and there are even witnesses who tes- 
tify that they used the name of the police when they made the apprehension, and 
appealed to that of the authority to effect the encarcelacion. 

By the declaration of the volunteers, Maroto and Clarens, it appears that these indi- 
viduals proceeded without malice, violating the orders and laws in force through igno- 
rance as to the responsibility they assumed; but as I observe that an abusive and 
punishable system has been adopted, some being prompted by an exaggerated zeal r 
and others from a want of knowledge of the penalties to be imposed for their conduct r 
I believe it is desirable to make some remarks of admonition to you in order to prevent 
the illegal and unnecessary course adopted by several parties which tends to disturb 
the public peace, and to create a want of confidence among families, and, perhaps, to 
gratify personal vengeance. 

Well known to all is my firm resolution of pursuing and bringing the full force of 
the law to bear upon those against whom it be proven that they directly or indirectly 
contribute toward aiding in fomenting the insurrection, and the moment that there- 
is a conviction of this fact the people of all classes and conditions should place confi- 
dence in the authority, and call upon the same at any hour, and upon the functionaries 
who depend upon the same, in order to notify them and communicate what they know, 
and to make the remarks they deem proper, and they may rest assured that I shall not 
neglect any means which may contribute to the discovery of the offense wherever I am 
informed it exists, and I shall adopt active and prompt measures for the chastisement 
of the same. 

The volunteer force, as also all who bear arms, is nothing less, in cases where there 
is a necessity of a warrant for the searching of a house, than au auxiliary of the au- 
thorities charged with carrying the same into effect ; any other proceeding is illegal, 
j)renicious, and fruitless, and gives room to reckless acts to which I cannot consent, nor 
can the majority of the individuals who compose the corps whose officers I now address 
consent to the same ; and I say reckless acts, because such are those when, while 
shielded with the uniform of volunteers, some few persons dare to assume upon them- 
selves certain attributes for which they are not competent ; inasmuch as there exist 
zealous, active, and intelligent public functionaries, charged with obtaining the same 
results without altering the legal course established by the laws. Those who commit 
said offenses incur, likewise, in the crimes of riots, violent force, and searching of houses, 
prescribed in the ordinances of war — in note 9, title 30, book 4, and the laws 1, 2, 3, 8 r 
and 9, title 10, part 7, book 8, of the new collection of statutes — which punish them 
with severe .penalties, according to the circumstances of the case, it being well to ob- 
serve that judgment in these cases belongs to those who exercise common law jurisdic- 
tion, without their being able to allege any privilege which exempts them from the 
same, as appears by the stipulations of laws 4 and 5, title 11, book 12, of the new 
collection of statutes before cited. 

In consequence, I trust that you, as commander-in-chief of this corps of volunteers, 
calling together the officers and members of the same and reading to them this com- 
munication, will endeavor to diffuse among all of them doctrines of order, and these 
provisions of the law of which some are ignorant, in order to avoid personal conflicts, 
which would be occasioned by their non-observance ; and to state to them that they 
can with all confidence call upon my authority, upon the chief of public protection 
and security, or on the inspectors or constables, in cases when they may have any 
affair or incident of interest to denounce, and that these will proceed to act in obedi- 
ence to the laws and of right ; and so justice will be done and the crime shall not be 
unpunished. 

God keep you many years. Matanzas, September 10, 1869. 

The Colonel Commandant General, 

RAMON FAJARDO. 

The Lieutenant Colonel, 

First in command of the battalion of volunteers of this city. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 151 

DETAILED NARRATIVE OP THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE VOLUNTEERS IN THE CASE REFERRED 
TO IN THE PRECEDING CIRCULAR. 

Don Jose Francisco Rodriguez, brother to Don Agustin Rodriguez, who rose in Jaguey 
Grande several months ago, a resident of Macuriges, where he owned a grazing farm, 
a<*ed sixty-five years, with wife, two daughters, (one of which insane,) and seven grand- 
children, the youngest of which is two months old, lately left his house to escort to the 
"Guira." a village station on the Matanzas railway, his sister-in-law, and wife of Don 
Agustin. who had been ordered or advised to quit the jurisdiction of Colon. Arriving 
afTthe Guira, of the rail on the " Jutia," he immediately returned per rail to the station 
Torriente, where he found the teacher of his grandchildren waiting for him with a led 
horse, and was informed that his son-in-law, a near relative of Don Jorge Rodriguez, 
resident at his father-in-law's, had been arrested by Don Jos6 Menendez, a native ol the 
Canary Islands, and commander of a party of volunteers, and taken to Jaguey to give 
a declaration, and that there was a rumor of his having been shot on the way, as is the 
practice. The teacher was sent early next morning to Jaguey to inquire, and returned 
with the tidings that Mr. Jorge Rodriguez, aged forty-four, and a man exclusively dedi- 
cated to the care of his family, had been shot on reaching the public square of Jaguey . Don 
Francisco then broke the news to his widowed daughter, and determined to remove his 
family to Matanzas, but first passed on to Colon to notify the lieutenant governor of 
what had happened, and solicit a " pase" de domicilio " for himself and family. On the 
first point the answer was that he could do nothing, and the " pase" " was refused. Don 
Francisco, however, provided with " cedulas " of transit, came to Matanzas, and took 
house in New Town, in the street called Espiritu Santo, which extends from the cav- 
alry barracks westward to and through the waste common called the Palmar de Junco. 
On Saturday, the 4th September, he was arrested in his house, at midnight, by two vol- 
unteers, who pretended to act by authority, and marched off in the center and m 
single file, one volunteer before him and the other behind. The march being m the 
direction of the common, on arriving at the first waste, and the rear rank summoning 
the front to j oin him, Don Francisco stopped and declared that he would proceed no further, 
expressing his desire to be shot there, in preference to going any further. One of the 
men answered that all should die, when a watchman came up and said that they should 
retrace their steps and take their prisoner to the cavalry barracks, whence they should 
deliver him to the chief of police, who was there at that moment. They obeyed, and 
on their way another watchman came running up and ordered them to stop, as the 
chief of police was already coming up. This functionary arrived and put saveral 
questions to Don Francisco, as to name, whence he came, &c, and Don Francisco then 
announced to him that he would not consent, in any way, to remain in custody of vol- 
unteers, as he presumed that they sought his life. The chief of police then took him 
to the police barracks, where he remained thirty-six hours, and was decently treated. 
At liberty he received a letter from the " mayoral" or overseer of his farm, informing 
him that' the celebrated Durante, at the head of his command, the volunteers, " Tira- 
dores de la muerte," had made a descent on the farm and carried away thirty head of 
horned cattle and three horses, and on leaving declared that not even a flower should 
be extracted from the place, as everything was " embargoed" by himself. The overseer 
had furthermore sent a fat hog to Durante, in obedience to his order, as appeared by a 
letter he had received from Durante, and which he enclosed as a voucher for the missing 
fat hog. Don Francisco Rodriguez, now thoroughly alarmed, called on his old friend 
and neighbor planter, Du Cosme Torriente, colonel of the volunteers at Matanzas, who 
recommended immediately his case to his friend, M. Cardenal, assessor to the mercantile 
tribunal, and influential member of the "comit6 nacional conservador," who took him 
to his own house to sleep, out of harm's way, and next clay accompanied him to the 
governor's, to whom Mr. Cardenal stated the case in all its details, and requested the 
governor to ask a "pase de domicilio" for Mr. Rodriguez from the lieutenant governor 
of Colon, in order to avoid any pretext for murder on the part of the volunteers. Gov- 
ernor Farjardo requested Mr. Rodriguez to hand him, and leave him, Durante's letter, 
which he'would forward to the lieutenant governor of Colon for his information, and 
that he might inquire Avith what authority Durante had embargoed and extracted 
cattle, &c. Governor Fajardo likewise gave order to the police to respect Mr. Rodriguez 
as an honest person and peaceful citizen, and to provide him with a certificate to that 
effect, in which it should be stated that he was, for a moment, unprovided with a < pase 
de domicilio " for himself, family, and servants, which would shortly arrive from Colon. 
The chief of police provided Mr. Rodriguez with said document. It is even whispered 
that the governor gave out a secret circular, almost a dignified one, Avhich had been 
confidentially read to all the volunteers, censuring the act of the two patriotic members 
of their corps who had waylaid Mr. R. This I cannot vouch for, although it is^ univer- 
sally admitted sub rosa ; however, Mr. R. breathed more freely, and Mr. Cardenal 
bestirred himself in his behalf, and promised that he would see him through and have 
his property restored to him. 

Mr. Rodriguez then moved to Matanzas proper, No. 84 Velarde street, having fallen 



152 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

sick from despondency and grief and with symptoms of low fever, such as a sens;)! ion 
of cold and much vomiting; was ordered quinine by a physician called in. This hap- 
pened on the first day of his moving to his new home, and on the second day, which 
was tho 18th instant, Mr. R. was again imprisoned, it is said, by order coming from 
Colon, and passed feverish to the hospital, where he was closely confined in the dun- 
geon, (calabozo ;) a peninsular -who has been in his service called on Sunday at the 
hospital, where he was refused intercourse with Mr. Rodriguez, as the gentleman was 
; ' incommunicado," and. besides, senseless, as it was supposed from congestion of the 
brain. 

The widowed daughter of Mr. Rodriguez called upon Governor Fajardo, beseeching 
him to permit her father to be conveyed as a prisoner to his own house, that ho might 
be assisted by his family. Her persistent supplications at last extorted from the gov- 
ernor a promise that lie would give orders that the old gentleman should be conveyed 
to his home. 

It appears that the governor gave the order, as the volunteers took the body of Mr 
Rodriguez at 5 o'clock of Tuesday morning to the house, where it was received by the 
frenzied family that rushed to meet the husband, the father and the grandfather. The 
body was conveyed in a dirty hospital coffin. The immediate cause of death I ignore, 
as no value can bo scientifically given to the answer on that point, given by the vol- 
unteer sentinel: "Mxuri.6 do rabia carajo!" 



No. 103. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Davis. 

No. 181.] Havana, October 15, 1869. 

On the 28th ultimo, a decree, of which I inclose a copy and transla- 
tion herewith, was issued by the Captain General, relating to passengers 
embarking and vessels carrying passengers from the ports of this 
island. 

The objectionable character of some of the provisions of this decree 
has led me to confer with the authorities here upon the subject, and I 
have pleasure in now being able to transmit to yon herewith a copy and 
translation of regulations under which the decree is to be executed, 
which have in consequence been issued, and were published in the 
Gazette of yesterday, which very materially modify i\w character of the 
original decree. 

I have found in this matter a liberal disposition on the part of the 
Captain General and other authorities, when once their attention was 
called to the objectionable features of the decree as first issued. 

Most of the steamers under the flag of the United States leaving this 
port are in transit from one port of the United States to another, or 
from a Mexican port to a port in the United States, and vice versa. 

These vessels have passengers on board without passports, making 
the voyage between such ports. 

There is no evidence relating to their character except the passenger 
list of the steamer and the declarations of the officers. 

It is obviously impossible to permit such passengers to be at the dis- 
cretion of any officer in a foreign port to distinguish between them and 
those who may have embarked clandestinely in this harbor. 

I am assured by the authorities here that the officers intrusted with 
the execution of this decree will be so instructed that no case can arise 
of molestation to such passengers in transit. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 153 

[Translation.] 

Superior Political Government of the Province of Cuba. 



Owing to the abuse which, is being practiced by masters of steamships and sailing 
vessels that daily leave the ports of the island admitting on board persons who are not 
provided with the necessary passports, I have deemed proper to resolve the following : 
. 1st. In future all steam or sailing vessels that depart from whatever port of the 
island and admit passengers shall be searched, after weighing anchor, by the employe 
of the police designated for that purpose, who will compare the passports delivered to 
him by the captain with the number of passengers, as also the description of both, 
and if any one is found without that document he will be taken from on board. 

Every person found in this case shall pay a fine of two hundred dollars or shall suffer 
the same number of days imprisonment. 

The captain of the vessel shall pay a fine of two hundred dollars for every such per- 
son, which shall be paid before leaving, unless the consignee obliges himself to make 
the payment. 

2d. Consignees who issue passage tickets without the presentation of a passport 
shall pay a fine of two hundred dollars. 

The captains of the ports are charged to see to the compliance with this decree. 

CABALLERO DE RODAS. 

Havana, September 28, 1860. 



[From the Official Gazette, Havana, October 14, 1869. — Translation.] 

SUPERIOR POLITICAL GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE OF CUBA, OFFICE OF THE 

SECRETARY. 

His excellency, the superior political governor, has been pleased to sanction the fol- 
lowing regulations, which are to be observed by the functionaries who are to execute 
the decree of the 28th of September, relating to passengers who leave this island: 

1st. The employe's of the police Avill be advised as to the hour of sailing of vessels 
carrying passengers, and, in conformity therewith, will proceed to the examination 
ordered, with the necessary anticipation, in order not to delay nor to hinder the move- 
ments of the vessel. 

2d. Said examination must be terminated before, and not after, weighing the anchor, 
as erroneously appears in the decree referred to ; nevertheless, the employ6s for this 
purpose shall remain on board until the vessel shall have arrived alongside the guard- 
ship, or at the point designated for her dismissal. 

3d. The employes of the police shall perform the operations of examinations with 
that urbanity and the good manners which on all occasions are recommended to them. 

4th. They shall, upon application, obtain assistance of the captains of the port, 
should the same be necessary. 

5th. The fiues which are prescribed for passengers without passports, and to the 
consignees who become liable to the same, will be paid with stamped paper of the 
usual class, giving the interested parties a proper receipt. 

6th. It is to be understood that the fine prescribed for the captains of vessels shall 
not be imposed if they have not had knowledge of the entrance on board of such infrac- 
tors, and they declare the same in writing and over their signature. 

The Secretarv, 

CESAREO FERNANDEZ. 

Havana, October 13, 1869. 



No. 104. 

Mr. Fish to Mr. Plumb. 

No. 03.] Washington, October 25, 1800. 

Tour dispatch No. 181 of the 15th. instant has been received. The 
decree which accompanied it, relative to passengers embarking and ves- 
sels carrying passengers from the ports of Cuba, has been taken into 
consideration in connection with the rules for the execution of the de- 
cree, which you say are the result of your conference with the authori- 



154 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

ties upon the subject. It is apprehended that the decree, even if faith- 
fully and impartially carried into effect, pursuant to those rules, may 
still lead to abuses of the just rights of citizens of the United States, 
which it is now especially desirable for both governments to anticipate 
and avoid. 

The first article of the decree provides that if any one is found with- 
out a passport on board a vessel about to start from a Cuban port, that 
person shall be liable to a fine of one hundred dollars and the master 
of the vessel to a fine of two hundred dollars. 

There can be no objection to this provision so far as it may relate to 
any person who may have been charged with an offense against Spanish 
law, or to Spanish subjects who may not have been so charged. This 
government, however, cannot acquiesce in the application of the decree 
to citizens of the United States, especially to those who may be passen- 
gers on board vessels which may merely touch at Havana, on their way 
to some other port. The application of the decree to passengers on 
board the steamers which may ply between New York and New Orleans 
would be particularly offensive. It is probable that passengers, by the 
latter steamers especially, seldom take passports. To require them so 
to do merely for the privilege of entering the port of Havana, probably 
without any intention of landing there, and to exact the fine for an 
omission to comply with the requirement, seems to be a useless and irri- 
tating exercise of power. 

This government has no disposition to screen from Spanish authority 
any person who may have committed or may contemplate the commis- 
sion of an offense against that authority. It also acknowledges the 
right and the duty of that authority, especially at this juncture, to 
adopt extraordinary precautions for self-defense. We are aware of the 
necessity for this from having been compelled to take a similar course 
during our late civil war. We, however, endeavored to respect the free- 
dom of well-meaning foreigners, and certainly never adopted or carried 
into effect any measure as objectionable as the decree referred to. You 
will, consequently, with firmness, but with courtesy, protest against the 
indiscriminate execution of that decree. 

A copy of this instruction will be communicated to Mr. Roberts, the 
envoy extraordinary and minister j)lenipotentiary of Spain here, in order 
that he may make known to the proper authorities the views of this 
government on the subject. 



No. 105. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 

No. 225.] Havana, November 17, 1869. 

I had the honor to receive, on the 3d instant, your dispatch No. 63, of 
the 25th ultimo, upon the subject of the decree issued by the Captain 
General of this island on the 28th of September last, relating to passen- 
gers embarking and vessels carrying passengers from the ports of Cuba, 
which decree was transmitted to the department with my dispatch No. 
181, of the 15th of October. 

By the same mail that brought me your dispatch, there was received 
here, as I have learned, from the Spanish minister at Washington, a 
transcript of the same, as communicated to him by the department, in 
order that he might make known to the proper authorities the views of 
the government of the United States upon the subject of the said de- 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 155 

eree. I further learn that a reply to his communication was made by 
General Carbo, acting in the temporary absence of General Bodas, and 
was forwarded by the mail of the 13th instant. 

Deeming it best to await the return of General Eodas and the ponti- 
cal secretary, Mr. Fernandez, before acting under the instruction con- 
tained in your dispatch, I have, in an interview with them to-day, 
stated that I had received your instructions to protest against the id dis- 
criminate execution of the decree referred to. 

The Captain General assured me that the decree in question was not 
intended to apply to passengers in transit, and would not be so applied, 
and that if any modification in this respect of the decree and regula- 
tions, as issued, was necessary, to remove misapprehension, it would 
immediately be made. 

I understood modifications to this effect will be issued and published 
in the Gazette, possibly in time to send by this mail. 

It is proper I should state that no case has yet been brought to my 
notice of difficulty experienced by any citizen of the United States 
arising from the operations of the said decree, as thus far executed. 



• No. 106. 

Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 

No. 230.] Havana, November 20, 1869. 

****** * 

Eeferringio my dispatch No. 225, of the 17th instant, I have now the 
honor to transmit herewith a copy of an order published in the Official 
Gazette of last evening, explanatory of the decree of the 28th of Sep- 
tember last, relating to passengers embarking and vessels carrying pas- 
sengers from the ports-of this island, and declaring that the said decree 
does not apply to passengers in transit. 



[Translation.] 
SUPERIOR POLITICAL GOVERNMENT OF CUBA, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY. 

Doubts having arisen with regard to the first article of the decree of the 28th of 
September last, notwithstanding the instructions published on the 13th of October for 
its execution, his excellency the superior political governor has seen fit to declare, in 
order to avoid further misunderstanding, and although this is distinctly stated in the 
said article, that it only applies to passengers embarking in the ports of this island, 
and'not to those arriving in transit ; which is published for the information of whom 
it may concern. 

Havana, November 19, 1869. 

JThe Secretary, „*i„ 

CASAREO FERNANDEZ. 



No. 107. 

General Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

No. 26.J Madrid, October 16, 1869. 

I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy * '■ 

and translation of his (Mr. Silvela's) reply, dated the 8th instant ; also 
a copy of the decree concerning liberty of worship in the Island of Cuba, 
and the circular of the minister of ultramar, referred to in Mr. Silvela's 
note, taken from the Official Gazette of the 28th September. 



156 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



Mr. Silcela to General Sickles. 

[Translation.] 



OCTOBEK 8. 



Your excellency observes that while the President of the republic reserves his liberty 
>of action, he ■will be happy if he can contribute in anything to the pacification of Cuba. 
a result equally advantageous to the interests of America and of Spain. 

This frank and noble declaration is extremely satisfactory, and I beg that your 
excellency will present to the President the thanks of the Spanish government. At 
the same time, I venture to indicate two acts which it is in his power to accomplish, 
and which will serve as an illustration of these loyal and friendly purposes toward 
Spain. 

The first is to exercise all his natural influence upon those who, having taken refuge 
in American territory, foment the rebellion, to the end that they, following the gener- 
ous initiative of the Spanish government, contained in the Gazette of the 28th of Sep- 
tember, may induce their followers to abstain from giving a savage character to the 
conflict, with the outrages and ferocious crimes with which they have been hitherto 
stained. 

The Spanish government having manifested its purpose to confine the contest within 
the limits prescribed by modern civilization, orders having been given to the authori- 
ties to proceed with all the moderation required by humanity, it would be truly mon- 
strous if the insurgents should continue the barbarous conflict which they have begun, 
and should keep on perpetrating the excesses which outrage the consciences of honor- 
able men, rendering themselves wholly unworthy of the generous hospitality which 
the republic dispenses to those who, under the name of the Cuban Junta, stand forth 
as promoters of the insurrection. The Spanish government having spontaneously set 
this example, and being resolved to act in a civilizing and humanitarian sense, a wide 
field is opened to the United States to show their sympathies and their good will 
toward a government and a nation which proceeds in this manner, notwithstanding 
the conduct of the rebels. 

The second act, which may illustrate the sincerity of the President's offers, is in 
regard to the gunboats constructed in the United States by the order and at the ex- 
pense of Spain, not to go against Peru, nor even to fight Hie insurgents of Cuba, but 
to defend our coasts against the aggressions of filibusters and pirates. 

The strongest argument which your excellency has used on various occasions to 
endeavor to demonstrate the importance of the insurrection has been the extent of its 
duration ; but this argument will have no weight while the insurrection receives con- 
tinual increase and nutriment from abroad; while it does not remain isolated and 
without other partisans and champions than the Cubans themselves. Only when the 
insurrection persists in this manner can it be urged that it is rooted in the country ; 
that the majority of the Cubans desire to be independent, and even that they are 
worthy to be so, and are possessed of sufficient means, vigor, and energy to form a 
nationality and a separate state. At this time, in the present state of things on that 
island, Spain cannot believe nor admit that the majority of the Cubans incline to sepa- 
ration from the mother country, but that a turbulent and blind minority, excited and 
aided by adventurers and speculators of other countries, by filibusters and pirates 
guided by evil passions and not by patriotic purposes, aspire to overcome the general 
will of their own countrymen, and that this is the sole cause of the discord which we 
deplore. At this time Spain does not and cannot see in Cuba the profound sentiment 
and true capacity of independence, and therefore, if she should consent to a separation 
from that rich and ancient colony, she would not have the great consolation of think- 
ing that she was giving existence to a new nation, but the deep remorse of weakly 
abandoning her own children — of leaving unprotected a people of her own languagi 

d race to miserably perish and disappear. 



No. 108. 

Mr. Plumb to Mr. Davis. 

No. 195.] Havana, October 26, 1869. 

I have the honor to inclose to you herewith a copy of a decree pub- 
lished in the Official Gazette of this city, on Sunday, the 24th instant, 
•establishing freedom of religion in this island. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 157 

This great step of progress in a country so closely connected with us 
as is the Island of Cuba, I have deemed should receive some notice on 
the part of the representative here of the United States, and I have 
therefore to-day called upon the Captain General, and have presented 
to him, in that character, my congratulations upon the adoption of this 
most important measure, in which I assured him the people and the 
government of the United States could not but feel a deep interest, 
forming, as the principle of religious liberty does, one of the cardinal 
bases of our institutions. 

General Eodas said it was a source of great satisfaction to him to have 
the privilege of placing his signature to a measure of this character. 



[Translation — Official.] 

SUPERIOR POLITICAL GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE OF CUBA— REGENCY OF THIS 
KINGDOM — MLNISTRY OF ULTRAMAR. 

Sir : One of the most sacred rights possessed by the human race, religious liberty 
unanimously demanded by popular assemblies, has, at length, been legitimately conse- 
crated by the Spanish democratic constitution, in which it is expressly declared that 
the State, as an institution called to accomplish one great end of life, can neither pen- 
etrate into the recesses of the spirits of man, and should not impede manifestations 
which are foreign to it. The natural limits which separate the donfain of religion 
from that of politics being thus distinctly drawn, the pious man will no longer fear 
lest a foreign authority dictate to the conscience laws which, right though they may 
be, carry with them a denial of the religion which they pretend to aid, tacitly sup- 
posing that it has not within itself reasons to exist, and capable, at most, of disguis- 
ing inward indifference with the rigor or the ostentation of the most scrupulous prac- 
tices. Nor will the state view with fear a power which, recognizing no authority 
among men, and uniting all powers in its own hand, might, perhaps, think again to 
raise pretensions to guardianship and political power, which, if they deserved to exist 
in former times, would now involve the condemnation of science and history. 

Spain could not stand remote from the general movement of Europe and the world- 
It would have been useless and impolitic to try to sustain, by artificial means as a uni- 
versal creed, what does not seem equally acceptable to the intelligence of all Span- 
iards, and experience admonished us to prevent struggles for power, which are almost 
always precursors of lamentable catastrophes. These considerations become, if possi- 
ble, more weighty when applied to the inhabitants of the Spanish Antilles. Very near 
to a continent where religious liberty is a universal fact ; close to a powerful republic, 
whose most free constitution has none like it in Europe, except that of Spain ; needing 
emigrants to people their fertile though abandoned fields, and open, by reason of their 
insular position, to contact with all nations, it would be unjust to deny to foreigners 
who, by their intelligence, labor, and capital, contribute to their ( i. e., that of the An- 
tilles) enviable prosperity, the privilege of openly holding religious creeds which are 
certainly deserving of respect ; and would likewise be dangerous, and especially inop- 
portune, to alienate from us, by useless and unjustifiable intolerance, the sympathies 
of the friendly nations, and vain and illusory to maintain legal barriers which the ne- 
cessities of commerce, that relentless destroyer of all exclusiveness, must constantly 
pass. And as to the Spaniards who were born in the territories, our course, would be 
most illogical were we to deny them a right which, on the mere consideration that 
they are men, we accord to natives of the peninsula ; we should thus oppose the irre- 
sistible tendency of the age, which directly conducts to the fraternal union of nations. 
The government, which is the guardian of the unity of the state, must defend, even 
by force, the integrity of its territory, which is but another expression of said unity ; 
but it is determined, aided by the will of a people whose courage and energy increase 
in proportion to the difficulties that arise, to spare, for the attainment of this object, 
neither efforts nor sacrifices. It must also (and it has given many proofs of its firm 
intention to do so) inaugurate the necessary reforms, in order that our brethren beyond 
the sea may enter upon the life of liberty and justice which Spain, by the revolution: 
of September, has conquered for all her sons. For these reasons the undersigned min- 
ister has the honor to propose to your highness the following plan of a decree.^ 

The Minister of Ultramar, 

MANUEL BECERRA. 

Madrid, September 20, 1869. 



158 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

DECREE. 

In accordance with the suggestion of the minister of ultramar, (i. e., of the Spanish 
transmarine possessions,) with the approval of the council of ministers, I decree aa 
follows : 

Article I. The public and private exercise of the religion which they may profess 
is guaranteed to all inhabitants of the Spanish Antilles, without any limitations, save 
the universal rules of propriety and law. 

Art. II. The obtainment and discharge of all public functions, as well as the acqui- 
sition and exercise of civil and political rights, are independent of creeds. 

Art. III. The government will give due uotice to the Cortes of the present decree. 

Done at Madrid, September 26, 1869. 

FRANCISCO SERRANO. 

The Minister of Ultramar, 

MANUEL BECERRA. 

Havana, October 23, 1869. 

Let it be observed. 

CABALLERO DE RODAS. 



No. 109. 

Mr. Plumb to Mr. Davis. 

No. 196.] Havana, October 26, 1869. 

Another inform of some importance lias been established here, in the 
publication on the 20th instant of a decree removing the restrictions 
which for some time have existed upon the formation of joint-stock 
companies for industrial and other purposes, and terminating after a 
short period the intervention which the government has heretofore had 
in such companies. 



No. 110. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Fish. 
No. 183.] . HAVANA, October 15, 1869. 

Shortly after the insurrection commenced last year, the insurgents 
occupied the town of Bayaino, a place of two thousand three hundred 
whites, two thousand eight hundred free blacks, and nine hundred 
slaves, and subsequently destroyed it. 

They also temporarily occupied the town of Holguin, a place of two 
thousand nine hundred whites, one thousand four hundred free blacks, 
and five hundred and sixty slaves. 

Since then the only places that have been mentioned as in their pos- 
session are Sibamca, a small village or hamlet in the district of Puerto 
Principe, and Guaimaro, another village stated to have five hundred 
inhabitants. 



No. 111. 

Mr. Plumb to Mr. Davis. 

No. 207.] Havana, November 2, 1869. 

In my dispatch No. 183, of the 15th ultimo, I stated that the only 
towns on this island that have recently been reported as in possession 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 159 

of the insurgents were Sibamca, a small village or hamlet in the district 
of Puerto Principe, and Guaimaro, another village stated to have five 
hundred inhabitants. 

It now appears that both of these places have been destroyed. 

Having seen in the papers here a statement to that effect, I have 
made inquiry through both private and official channels, and the asser- 
tions appear to be confirmed. 



No. 112. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Davis. 

No. 208.] Havana, November 2, 1869. 

On the 30th ultimo I received from Mr. Hall, United States consul at 
Matanzas, a letter, in which he states as follows : 

" Inclosed I send you a slip that was probably printed in New York. 
Comments upon it are unnecessary. Evidently the leaders of the insur- 
rection, despairing of getting up a rising of the whites in this part of 
the island, have commenced tampering with the negroes. The conse- 
quences, if the plan should succeed, will be fearful for the blacks. The 
slip I send you was received per mail by a resident here. He gave me 

this one, and destroyed .the others/' 

* . * # * # * # * # 

Such means as are indicated by this incendiary document are simply 
those of destruction. 

No desirable state of affairs on this island, no change for the better 
in its institutions, can be brought about through the adoption of such 
measures. 

The elements that will remain will be far more likely to make the 
island a desert than to successfully establish a free republic. 



I Translation. 



The negroes are the same as the whites. The whites are not slaves, nor do they work 
for the negroes. The negroes, therefore, should not he slaves, nor work for the whites. 
The Cubans wish that the negroes should he free. The Spaniards wish that the negroes 
should continue to be slaves. The Cubans are fighting against the Spaniards. The 
negroes who have any shame should go and fight along with the Cubans. The Span- 
iards want to kill the Cubans so that the negroes never can be free. The negroes are 
not fools ; they have a great heart, and they will fight along with the Cubans. When 
the Cubans who are fighting pass where the negroes are, then the negroes should go 
with them, in order to be free. When the Cubans who are fighting are far from the 
negroes, then the negroes should run away and should go with the Cubans ; but before 
they go they should burn the estates. If in the estates there were not slaves, and they 
gave the negroes their money for their work, the estates would be good, for they help 
the poor people to live ; but in the estates the negroes have nothing more than the 
lash, and all the money is kept by the master to give to the Spaniards. If the estates 
are not burnt, the crop will be made, and the money of the crop will go to the Span- 
iards, and then the Spaniards will send a great many soldiers, with guns and cannons, 
to kill the Cubans, and the negroes will remain slaves forever. The time to fight has 
come. It is better to be in the mountains fighting along with the Cubans, so that 
everybody — the negroes the same as the whites — shall be free, than to be working as 
slaves. Vive la libertad ! Fire to the estates, and everybody to the mountains to fight 
against the Spaniards. 

LA JUNTA LIBERTADORA DE COLOR, 

Press of the Negro Laborante. 

Havana, October 1, 1869. 



160 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

No. 113. 
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Davis. 

No. 211.] Havana, November 4, 1869. 

In the Official Gazette of this city of yesterday there is published, by 
order of the Captain General, what purports to be an order issued by the 
insurgent General Cavada, commanding in the vicinity of Cienfuegos, 
addressed to a subordinate insurgent officer, under date of the 5th 
ultimo. 

In this order, stated to have been found among documents taken from 
the insurgents, after acknowledging the receipt of a communication 
from the officer referred to, reporting that u in conformity with instruc- 
tions of the superior government" he had destroyed a certain sugar 
estate, Cavada proceeds to order him without delay to destroy a cer- 
tain other estate called " Marsillan," and then gives a list of various 
estates which he directs him to destroy as early as possible. 

" The estates," he adds, " belonging to Cubans, whose conduct with ref- 
erence to our cause does not merit chastisement, are to be left until the 
time, should it arrive, when their destruction becomes a peremptory 
necessity." 
• The Captain General, in publishing this document, states that he does 
so in order that the public may be informed of the plans and intentions 
of those who call themselves saviors of the interests of this island, and 
in order that the owners of the estates mentioned may take such measures 
as may be necessary, in addition to the aid that will be given to them 
by the forces of the government, to impede, as they are now doing, the 
destruction of this class of property. 

In the same edition of the Gazette there is published what purports 
to be another document, taken from the insurgents in the department 
of the four cities, in which, by order of the same insurgent General 
Cavada, instructions are given for the selection of persons who, as soon 
as the cane-fields are in proper condition, are to endeavor to effect their 
total destruction. This at certain seasons of the year, say by the month 
of January next, can be easily accomplished by setting them on fire, if 
there are persons so evilly disposed. 

In the publication of this document it is stated that, in consequence 
of the same, the Captain General has directed that from that date, the 
3d instant, all incendiaries who may be apprehended, whatever their 
number may be, shall be immediately shot. 

Should the desperate course of warfare that appeal's to have been 
adopted by the insurgent leaders be persisted in, and the general de- 
struction of the cane-fields be attempted, the exasperation that will 
ensue may lead to a fearful loss of life on this island. 



No. 114. 

Gen. Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

No. 31.] Madrid, November 3, 1809. 

* * * # * * * * * 

The commission organized to prepare and report for the consideration 
of the Cortes a plan of administrative reform for the island of Porto 
Rico, of which I advised you in my dispatch No. 19, has been dissolved. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 161 

The Marquis de la Esperanza, one of the deputies of Porto Eico, and a 
member of the board, informed the secretary of this legation, Colonel 
Hay, that the commission was unable to agree upon any plan. The dis- 
agreement between the government and the provincial members in- 
cluded among others the questions of slavery, tariff, and taxation. The 
decree dissolving the commission, which appeared recently in the 
Gazette, assigns as the reason for the measure, that the time limited for 
the sittings of the board has expired. I shall inform you of whatever 
else may transpire on this subject. It is probable the matter will soon 

be brought up in the Cortes by the deputies from Porto Eico. 

# * * # # # # # * 



No. 115. 
Gen. Sickles to Mr. Fish. 
No. 33.] Madrid, November 11, 1869. 

The colonial minister declared on the 8th instant in the Cortes that 
the government would not bring forward any measure of reform for 
Cuba until the last hostile band was dispersed, and the insurgents had 
lost all hope. You will perhaps find some interest in a comparison of 
that view of Mr. Becerra with his expressions on the 6th of October, 
and I inclose reports of his remarks on both of these occasions. 

4t ' 4. .11. .... .. * .. 



[Translation.] 

the colonial minister. 

October 6, 1869. 

Gentlemen : Our transmarine provinces have a right to reforms which are in har- 
mony with the constitution which Spain has framed, and the government is resolved 
to make in them such (reforms) as may be necessary. 

It is possible that a colony may have, at a given time, more liberty than its metrop- 
olis; possibly it may have less. The government will examine this matter with 
liberal judgment, not suffering itself to be misled by dangerous ideals, but grappling 
resolutely with all problems, social, political, and administrative. 

Nor does it become Spain to carry on a retaliatory warfare, and the government will 
adopt the necessary measures to cause the suppression of the insurrection in Cuba to 
proceed in accordance with the forms of regular warfare, according proper treatment 
to the wounded, to prisoners, and to those who surrender, relying upon the good faith 
of Spain, without interfering with the action of the courts, in the case of common 
crimes which may have been committed. 

It has been said that the cause of the insurrection was our bad colonial system, which 
does not comply with the demands of the age. 

This may be partially true ; but it is also true that under this pretext an attempt is 
made to attack the integrity of our territory. Very well ; we will let it be understood 
that determined as Spain is to initiate the reforms which are demanded by the en- 
lightment of the present century in America, she is equally determined to sacrifice 
her last man, her last cent, and her last cartridge, sooner than allow her honor to suf- 
fer any detriment. If fate shall be adverse to us, history will say : " Here lie the 
Spaniards, whg, sooner than stain their honor, preferred to die like brave men." At tbie 
very time we are giving proofs of our purpose, by sending our soldiers to Cuba and 
Porto Rico, to prove to the world that our domestic contentions will not prevent us 
from employing all necessary means to conquer our enemies, and that the nation of 
Lepanto knows how to fight to-day as well as then. 
H. Ex. Doc. 160 11 



162 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

the colonial minister. 

November 9, 1869. 
In due time the deputies of Cuba will come here, aud with us will decide what best 
comports with the honor of Spain, and the welfare of those provinces which, distant 
as they are, have no less right to the reforms which civilization claims. 

But'Spain is in the position of a man of honor, who does not yield what is asked of 
him by an armed adversary. The first thing is to conquer ; if possible, bloodlessly ; 
but if this be impossible, the right of force and the force of right will decide. (Tokens 
of approbation.) 



No. 116. 

General SicMes to Mr. Fish. 

No. 35.J Madrid, November 25, 1869. 

The minister of the colonies yesterday evening read to the Cortes the 
project of reforms for Porto Eico, about which there has been so much 
discussion and conjecture during the past month. I inclose the report 

which is contained in the journals of this morning. 

## # # # * * # 



[Translation.] 

The minister of ultramar occupied the rostrum and read the following plan of a law : 

Article 1. The island of San Juan de Puerto Rico, which forms a part of the 
national territory, is considered as a province of the monarchy, with the same rights 
and conditions as those of the Peninsula, saving the modifications which may be estab- 
lished by law with regard to its government. 

Art. 2. The Spanish constitution, promulgated by the Constituent Cortes, June 1, 
1869, shall henceforth extend to the island of San Juan de Puerto Rico, with the fol- 
lowing alterations and additions : 

Article 8, paragraph 2, shall be thus modified : 

" When the writ lacks this requisite, or when the grounds on which it was based are 
judiciously declared illegal or notoriously insufficient, the person who shall have been 
arrested, or whose arrest shall not have been approved within the time specified in 
article 4, or whose dwelling shall have been forcibly entered with a search warrant, or 
whose correspondence shall have been intercepted, shall have the right to bring a suit 
against the judge who gave the writ for damages proportionate to the injury caused, 
but never for less than one thousand dollars." 

Article 18 shall read as follows : 

"No Spaniard residing in Porto Rico, who is in the full enjoyment of his civil rights, 
and who is able to read and write, shall be deprived of the privilege of voting at the 
elections for senators, deputies to the Cortes, provincial deputies, and members of 
municipal boards." 

Article 17, first paragraph, shall read : 

"No Spaniard residing in Porto Rico shall be deprived," &c. 

Addition to the first paragraph : 

" All public discussion by any of the means specified in the preceding paragraph, 
which may tend to promulgate ideas touching a separation of the island of Porto Rico 
from the mother country, or designed to impair the integrity of the Spanish territory, 
is prohibited. Likewise, so long as the state of slavery shall exist, all public discus- 
sion with regard to it is prohibited." 

To article 19 shall be added : 

"Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the superior governor 
of Porto Rico, giving ear to the authorities, in the form prescribed by law, may, on his 
own responsibility, order the dissolution of any association whose object or whose 
measures may compromise the safety of the State, reporting to the government by tele- 
graph, if possible, or by the first opportunity, whether offered by a national or foreign 
vessel. 

" The government, all things being considered, will obtain from the Cortes the pas- 
sage of the law referred to in the preceding paragraph, or will otherwise revoke the 
measure adopted by the superior governor of Porto Rico." 



STEUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 163 

Article 21 shall read thus : 

" The privilege of holding worship in public or private, in any form, is guaranteed 
to all inhabitants of Porto Eico without any restriction save the universal rules of 
morality and law." 

Article 24 shall read as follows : 

"Any Spaniard may establish and maintain educational institutions without previ- 
ous license, save the inspection of the proper authority, on grounds of hygiene and 
morality, and regarding the special prohibitions laid down in article 17 for the main- 
tenance of the national integrity." 

Article 31, paragraph 3, shall thus be modified : 

" But in neither law can any guarantee be suspended other than those given in the 
first paragraph of this article, nor can the government be authorized to banish Span- 
iards from the kingdom." 

Addition, at the end of the article : 

" In case of invasion of the territory, or under circumstances which he may deem 
grave, the superior governor, giving ear to the authorities in the form prescribed by law, 
may, on his own responsibility, suspend the guarantees mentioned in paragraph 1 of 
this article, reporting tfie fact immediately to the government by telegraph, if possible, 
or, if not, by the first vessel, .national or foreign. If the supreme government, on due 
consideration, shall think it necessary to prolong the suspension of guarantees, it shall 
ask of the Cortes a law to this effect ; otherwise, it shall order the suspension of guar- 
antees in the island of Porto Eico to cease." 

Article 37 shall receive the following addition : 

"The legislative powers of the provincial deputation of Porto Eico shall be fixed by 
law, always without prejudice to the suprame right of the Corfces of the nation." 

Article 60, paragraph 5, shall be modified : 

" To this effect the electoral body of each municipal district shall elect a number of 
arbitrators equal to the sixth part of the number of members who are to constitute the 
municipal board." 

Article 99, paragraph 5, shall receive the following addition : 

" Definition of their powers and duties with regard to taxes, so that provincial and- 
municipal functionaries may never be brought into opposition to the tributary system., 
and that they may in no case fail to grant and vote the means necessarv for the serv- 
ices and expenditures made incumbent upon them by law." 
. Article 100, paragraph 2, is resciuded. 

Article 108 is rescinded. 

The following additions shall be made provisionally: 

"The rights laid down in the present constitution shall not be applicable to persons 
in a state of slavery while this exists, but they shall become so applicable as said per- 
sons gain their liberty by any of the means established by law ; they shall then enjoy 
all the rights guaranteed by this constitution to the Spanish inhabitants of Porto Eico." 

Art. 3. As soon as the Cortes shall have voted upon and sanctioned the present law, 
the government shall see that the constitution be published, with the alterations and 
additions which it shall have undergone, in order to become applicable to the island of 
San Juan de Puerto Eico. 

The Minister of Ultramar, 

, 10 _ MANUEL BECEEEA. 

Madrid, November 18, 1869. 

It was announced that this plan would go to the sections for the appointment of the 
committee which is to report upon it. 



:no. ii7. 

Gen. SicMes to Mr. Fish, 
[Telegram.] 



Madrid, November 28, 1869. 
Am authorized by minister of colonies to inform you that govern- 
ment measures for Porto Eico will include local self-government, free 
press, public schools, impartial suffrage, gradual but speedy abolition 
of slavery, civil and political rights without distinction of color, domi- 
ciled foreigners to vote for town officers after six months' residence, and 
for members of provisional council after one year, and that these re- 



164 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OP CUBA. 

forms will in good faith be executed in Cuba when hostilities ceas^e, and 
deputies are chosen in compliance with Article 108 of Spanish constitu- 
tion. 



No. 118. 

Gen. Sickles to Mr. Fish. 

[Telegram.] 

Madrid, December 3, 1869. 

###### 

Foreign secretary * * * wished me to assure you that Spain 
now desires the most friendly relations with all the American republics, 
and intends in her colonial policy to begin immediately the most liberal 
reforms. 



No. 119. 

Mr. Loivrey to Mr. Fish. 

Washington, December 15, 1869. 
Sir : As requested by the President, I called upon the Attorney Gen- 
eral immediately after my interview with the President and yourself on 
the afternoon of the 13th instant, and again with Mr. Evarts on the 
morning of the 14th. At the last interview he stated very clearly the 
purpose of the government, and declared that the affidavits presented 
by me were not regarded as furnishing evidence so good as is already 
in your possession, and that they would be disregarded. This being the 
case, 1 have withdrawn the letters and exhibits, they being private 
property, and, according to my understanding with the President, I now 
send you the affidavits for such use as you may choose to make of them. 
They are those of Miguel de Aldama, J. M. Mestre, Mr. Cavoda, William 
C. Tinker, F. B. Ooppinger, Enrique Loring, and F. X. Cisneros. The 
persons whose affidavits are submitted are ready and willing to come 
here for examination orally if you desire. Mr. Tinker, as I informed 
you, was in the ante-room during the conference, and I hoped he might 
have been called in, as I proposed, to be heard. He will remain at the 
Arlington House for a few days ready to respond to any call and be 
further examined in any way you may require. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

GEOSVENOE P. LOWEEY, 

78 Broadway, New York. 
Hon. Hamilton Fish, 

Secretary of State. 



No. 120. 

The Attorney General (Mr. Hoar) to Mr. Fish. 

Attorney General's Office, 

December 16, 1869. 
Sir : In compliance with your oral request, I send you, in writing, my 
opinion upon the question whether it is proper for the United States to 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 165 

cause a libel to be filed, under the third section of the statute of April 
20, 1818, entitled " An act in addition to the ' Act for the punishment of 
certain crimes against the United States,' and to repeal the acts therein 
mentioned," against the gunboats building in New York for the Spanish 
government, on the ground that they are procured to be fitted out and 
armed with intent that they shall be employed in the service of Spain, 
a foreign state, with intent to cruise or commit hostilities against the 
subjects, citizens, or property of a " colony, district, or people " with 
whom the United States are at peace, namely, a " colony, district, or 
people" claiming to be the republic of Cuba. 

The statute of 1818 is sometimes spoken of as the neutrality act, and 
undoubtedly its principal object is to secure the performance of the duty 
of the United States, under the law of nations, as a neutral nation in 
respect to foreign powers j but it is an act to punish certain offenses 
against the United States by fines, imprisonment, and forfeitures, and 
the act itself defines the precise nature of those offenses. 

The United States have not recognized the independent national 
existence of the Island of Cuba, nor any part thereof, and no sufficient 
reason has yet been shown to justify such a recognition. In the view 
of the government of the United States, as a matter of fact, which must 
govern our conduct as a nation, the Island of Cuba is a territory under 
the government of Spain, and belonging to that nation. If ever the 
time shall come when it shall seem fitting to the political department of 
the government of the United States to recognize Cuba as an independ- 
ent government, entitled to admission into the family of nations, or, 
without recognizing its independence, to find that an organized govern- 
ment, capable of carrying on war and to be held responsible to other 
nations for the manner in which it carries it on, exists in that island, it 
will be the duty of that department to declare and act upon those facts ; 
but before such a state of things is found to exist, it is not, in my 
opinion, competent for a court to undertake to settle those questions. 

The judicial tribunals must follow and conform to the political action 
of the government, in regard to the existence of foreign states and our 
relations to them,- and it would, in my opinion, be inconsistent with 
the honor and dignity of the United States to submit to a court, and 
allow to be declared and acted upon, in such an indirect manner, rights 
and duties toward a foreign nation which the government is not pre- 
pared distinctly and upon its own responsibility to avow and maintain. 

It has been brought to my notice, as to yours, by persons who profess 
to represent the Cuban insurgents, that libels have already been filed 
in the courts of the United States, under the statute of 1818, to procure 
the«condemuation of vessels, on the ground that they were being fitted 
out and armed with intent to be employed in the service of a " colony, 
district, or people," namely, the " colony, district, or people " of Cuba, 
with intent to cruise and commit hostilities against the subjects of Spain, 
a nation with whom we are at peace ; and it is urged that this involves 
what is claimed to be the converse of the proposition, that as we assert 
in those libels that Cuba is a "colony, district, or people" capable of 
committing hostilities against Spain, the law equally applies to an arma- 
ment procured or fitted out by Spain for the purpose of hostilities against 
Cuba, and that the executive government by filing those libels has vir- 
tually recognized the " colony, district, or people" of Cuba as belligerents. 

This argument seems to me to involve an erroneous legal notion, and 
to be based upon the idea that the statute of 1818, being an act to protect 
and enforce the neutrality laws of the United States, cannot be applied 
except where there are independent parties to a contest entitled to equal 



166 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

rights. But this, I think, is an opinion wholly unsound. Undoubtedly 
the ordinary application of the statute is to cases where the United 
States intends to maintain its neutrality in wars between two other 
nations, or where both parties to a contest have been recognized as bel- 
ligerents — that is, as having a sufficiently organized political existence to 
enable them to carry on war. But the statute is not confined in its 
terms, nor, as it seems to me, in its scope and proper effect, to such 
cases. Under it any persons who are insurgents, or engaged in what 
would be regarded under our law as levying war against the sovereign 
power of the nation, however few in number, and occupying however 
small a territory, might procure the fitting out and arming of .vessels 
with intent to cruise or commit hostilities against a nation with which 
we are at peace, and with intent that they should be employed in the 
service of a " colony, district, or people " not waging a recognized war. 
The statute would apply to the case of an armament prepared in antici- 
pation of an insurrection or revolt in some district or colony which it 
was intended to excite, and before any hostilities existed. 

But, on the other hand, when a nation with which we are at peace, or 
the recognized government thereof, undertakes to procure armed vessels 
for the purpose of enforcing its own recognized authority within its own 
dominions, although there may be evidence satisfactory to show that 
they will aid the government in the suppression of insurrection or 
rebellion, in a legal view this does not involve a design to commit hos- 
tilities against anybody. If the illicit distillers of any section of the 
United States combine together to resist by force the collection of the 
revenue, and arm themselves for this purpose, with the intent to set at 
defiance permanently and by force the laws of the United States, they 
may be levying war against the government ; but when the government 
sends its officers to disperse or arrest the offenders, although it may find 
it necessary to employ military force in aid of its authority, it certainly 
cannot be considered as committing hostilities against the territory over 
which such operations extend. 

The question of belligerency between organized communities is a 
question of fact, and may be one of the gravest facts upon which a 
nation is called to decide and act. The concession of belligerent rights 
to a," colony, district, or people" in a state of insurrection or revolution 
necessarily involves serious restrictions upon the ordinary rights of the 
people of this country to carry on branches of manufacture and trade 
which are unrestricted in time of peace. To prevent our mechanics 
and merchants from building ships of war and selling them in the 
markets of the world, is an interference with their private rights which 
can only be justified on the ground of a paramount duty in our iuter- 
national relations; and however much we may sympathize with the 
efforts of any portion of the people of another country to resist what 
they consider oppression, or to achieve independence, our duties are 
necessarily dependent upon the actual progress which they have made 
in reaching these objects. 

This subject, as you are well aware, is one to which long and careful 
consideration has been applied, and the result, which I have thus briefly 
stated, and which might receive much fuller statement and illustration, 
is that upon which the administration have acted. I trust that I have 
made my view of the law intelligible, and have the honor to be, 
"Very respectfully, 

E. E. HOAB, 

Attorney General. 

Hon. Hamilton Fish, 

Secretary of State. 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 167 

No. 121. 

AFFIDAVITS SUBMITTED TO THE ATTOENEY GENEEAL BY ME. GEOSVENOE 
P. LOWEEY AND ME. WILLIAM M. EVAETS, COUNSEL FOE THE CUBANS, 
TO ESTABLISH THE EXISTENCE OF A STATE OF WAE AND OF AN INDE- 
PENDENT GOVEENMENT IN CUBA. 

Considering it is of the utmost importance for the hest service of the state, and hav- 
ing the firm determination that the rebellion already quelled by the force of arms in 
the interior part of the island may not receive from outside any kind of resources that 
may serve to make it live longer with great harm to property, to industry, and to com- 
merce, and in use of the supreme and discretional faculties of "which I have been in- 
vested by the supreme government of the nation, I decree — 

Only article : All ships that may be captured in Spanish waters or in free seas near 
the island, with cargo of men, arms, and ammunition, or effects which may in some 
way serve to promote or swell the insurrection in this province, whatever may be his 
port of sailing and destination, after his papers and roll may be examined, will, in 
fact, be considered as enemies of the integrity of our territory and treated as pirates 
in conformity with the navy rules. 

All men found in them, whatever their number may be, will be immediately shot. 

DENUNGO DULCE. 

Havana, March 24, 1869. 



On this date I have considered convenient to decree the closing of all the ports and 
landing places of the central and western departments where there may not exist cus- 
tom-houses, not only to coastwise commerce, but also to ocean navigation. It will be 
the duty of the commanders of men-of-war to make known this measure to the captains 
or masters of the ships they may find sailing in direction to any one of said ports, with 
the object that they may sail to the place nearest to their destination, where a custom- 
house may be found, and that is published that it may be generally known. 

LEESUNDI. 

November 9, 1869. 



CARLOS MANUEL DE CESPEDES, PRESIDENT OP THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA. 

Ill use of the power and authority which 1 exercise, and of the ratification of the 
said power by the House of Eepresentatives on the 22d of April, 1869, and taking into 
consideration that it is very important for the cause of the independence and freedom 
of the nation to constitute a special mission near the government of the republic of 
the United States, with all powers to secure the triumph of the holy cause which the 
sons of the said island are maintaining to emancipate themselves from the ominous 
domination of Spain, and considering that citizen Jos6 Morales Lemus fully possesses 
all the requirements to fulfill so delicate a mission, I name and ratify him especial 
envoy and minister plenipotentiary of the republic of Cuba, near the government of 
the United States, which commission he will exercise with full power, which I grant 
to him in the name of the nation I represent, authorizing him to exercise all the fac- 
ulties due in all civilized nations to diplomatic agents and charges d'affaires, and espe- 
cially to urge near the said government of the United States of America the recogni- 
tion of the independence of "the Island of Cuba, and all moral and material help for 
the prosecution of the war. 

Given at Berrocal this 31st day of May, 1889, in the second year of the independence 
of Cuba. 

[seal] CAELOS MANUEL DE CESPEDES, 

President of the Republic. 

Eamon Cespedes, 

Secretary of Foreign Affairs. 



Affidavit of Miguel de Aldama. 

City and County op New York, ss : 

Miguel de Aldama, being duly sworn, says : I am a native of the Island of Cuba, 
and have for the most part of my life resided in the city of Havana, but am at present 
resident in the city of New York, and am president of the Cuban Junta in that city. 
That said Junta is the financial and business agent in the United States of the govern- 
ment of the republic of Cuba, and in a considerable degree manages and controls all 
the business and affairs of the people of the Island of Cuba who yield allegiance to 



168 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

said republic. As president of the Junta it is my duty to receive official communica- 
tions from the government of the republic, and to know, and I do know, the actual 
state and condition from time to time of the revolution and its forces in Cuba. I have 
read the affidavits of William C. Tinker, Enrique Loinaz, of Mr. Coppenger and Mr. 
Cisneros, and I know those affidavits to be strictly true so far as they relate to the or- 
ganization of the government, the general condition of the country, the administration 
of the laws, the sentiments of the people, and all the circumstances of the republican 
government, and I believe them to be true in every other respect concerning those 
matters of which I have no personal knowledge. The gentlemen above named are 
persons of good repute and standing in the island of Cuba, and their statements are 
entitled to the utmost credit. 

Late on Thursday evening I caused a telegraphic message to be sent to the President 
of the United States, asking him to hold the thirty Spanish gunboats until I could ad- 
dress to him proofs which would satisfy him that the government of Cuba is a de facto 
government, sufficiently established to be entitled, if not to recognition, to a fair admin- 
istration in its favor of the neutrality laws, and that it is actually carrying on a war in 
the international sense of that term, and maintaining itself against its enemy success- 
fully. I received an indirect intimation from a friend in Washington, late on Friday, 
that my communication would be received up to Monday, December 13. I make this 
explanation because, having had only Friday evening and Saturday to gather the wit- 
nesses, and compare their statements, and examine my correspondence bearing upon 
the subject, and select and arrange such documents and translations thereof as are 
material, it seems necessary to excuse tbe hasty and probably imperfect manner in 
which the work has, within that short time, been accomplished. Mr. Loinaz is the last 
person who, so far as I know and believe, has arrived from the republican district of 
the Island of Cuba, and before his arrival Messrs. Cisneros and Tinker were the last 
persons. The accounts given by them in their affidavits are strictly true according to 
the accounts rendered by them, as a performance of their duty to this junta, concerning 
the state of things in Cuba, and is in strict accordance with all other advices received 
from the government of the republic. The subsequent advices have been by sailing 
vessels and the mail, by indirect routes, and come down to a period as late as about the 
15th of November. The last communication was from General Cavada, and contains 
the captured Spanish letters which have been published in the newspapers. I have 
no doubt whatever of the entire authenticity of these captured Spanish letters, and 
that they actually state the condition of things in the Cinco Villas district, of the 
Spanish troops. 

These communications are submitted, and translations have been made of as many of 
them as time would permit, and further translations will be continued, if desired, so 
that all can be read in the English language. They do not disclose any falling off, nor 
do I believe there has been any falling off or retrogression in the revolution. On the 
contrary, I believe that it has constantly gained force, strength, and territory from the 
day of the outbreak in October, 1868. I also believe and declare as my solemn convic- 
tion that the almost entire Cuban people, without respect to age, rank, or circumstances, 
are engaged in this rebellion, urged thereto by a long course of oppression beyond 
all conception by any person who has not lived under a Spanish colonial government, 
and that they are fully determined to sacrifice everything rather than again submit to 
Spanish rule, and that, should the war be prolonged, the only result in the end must 
be that the dominion of the island will be wrested from the Spanish government, or that 
the entire property of the island will be destroyed. I know of my own knowledge 
that, as one of its first acts, the government of the Cuban republic, composed largely 
of persons who owned slaves, declared the emancipation of all slaves, and that that 
action has met with the universal approval of all adherents of the republic. I was the 
owner, before October, 1868, of about 2,000 slaves. I now regard these slaves as all free, 
and as my equals in every political privilege and right in the Island of Cuba. All of 
my slaves, however, unfortunately for them, lived on plantations within the Spanish 
lines, and have been confiscated as property, and are still held in slavery without my 
consent and against my wish. I only mention my case, because my desires and pur- 
poses concerning these slaves are the same as those of every other Cuban owner of 
slaves who is loyal to the revolution. I know by public and private information that 
the republic of Cuba has been recognized as an independent nation by the republic of 
Peru, and that it has, according to diplomatic form, been recognized as a lawful bellig- 
erent by the republics of Chili and Bolivia and Mexico ; also, that it has seut diplomatic 
representatives to France, England, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Mexico, and that Mr. 
Jose" Morales Lemus is its duly accredited diplomatic representative to the government 
of the United States ; and I herewith attach a translated copy of his commission, which 
is irylue and usual form. Mr. Morales Lemus is at present ill at his house in Brooklyn, 
and* therefore unable to participate in this representation. I know that the republic 
of Cuba owns five ships, which have been purchased with a view of forming a navy, and 
that the President has issued commissions to officers to command those vessels, and. that 
he has also issued letters of marque and reprisal. I also know, by having seen the pro- 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 169 

clamatiou of the Captain General, that the ports mentioned by Mr. Loinaz in his affi- 
davit have been closed by his decree to neutral commerce, they having before such de- 
cree been open to commerce with other nations on the same terms as all other Spanish 
ports. I attach hereto a translated copy of the decree. I know by public information 
that Spanish cruisers have claimed and have exercised the right upon the high seas to 
visit and search neutral vessels, instances of which are mentioned in the President's 
late annual message. This power is claimed to be exercised under a decree of the Cap- 
tain General, dated March 24, 1869, a translated copy of which is hereto annexed. I 
kuow that two vessels have been seized in the United States and libeled by the gov- 
ernment thereof, namely, the Catharine Whiting, at New York, and the Cuba, at Wil- 
mington, for condemnation, on the ground that they had been fitted out and armed 
within the limits of the United States with intent to cruise and commit hostilities in 
the service of the republic of Cuba, against the foreign state of Spain, and those two 
vessels are now held and being prosecuted upon that ground, and that various persons, 
including Mr. Morales Lemus, have been indicted in the southern district of New York 
for hiring and enlisting men to enter the service of a certain foreign people, to wit, a 
portion of the people of the Island of Cuba. I know that it is impossible for any per- 
son, not a Cuban, visiting Havana, or any of the ports or towns in the possession of , 
Spaniards, to obtain reliable information concerning the revolution. In most cases 
the Spaniards themselves are not able to obtain it, being unable with their utmost force 
to penetrate into the country held by the patriots. But the Cubans in those places 
possessing such information never dared to impart it to any person not well known to 
them, for fear of persecution and death by the Spanish soldiery. 

I left Havana in May last. I was well acquainted with the general condition of 
affairs in the island at that time, and I know that there were npt less than 30,000 reg- 
ular Spanish troops in the island, besides about 30,000 Spanish volunteers. I have been 
informed, and believe, that General Prim declared, at a session of the Spanish Cortes, 
but a short time since, that he had sent 40,000 troops and fourteen men-of-war to the 
island, and notwithstanding the presence of this large army, I know, from my own 
authentic correspondence, that the tenitorvifrom time to time brought within the 
scope of the revolution has not, nor has anypart of it, been taken again, and that the 
lines of the revolutionary territory have been gradually extended until they now in- 
clude nearly two-thirds of the entire island, and about one-half the population. The 
Spanish troops are armed with the most modern and efficient arms, such as repeating 
rifles, and the Cuban troops have no better arms than the common Springfield musket, 
or Enfield rifle. According to my best information and belief, the Cuban army now 
consists of about 40,000 men, armed, more or less, and there remain nearly 80,000 more 
men duly enrolled, and ready to take the field as soon as they can be armed with any 
weapon. The disposition of these troops has been resolved upon by the military au- 
thorities in full view of the special circumstances of the country, of the danger of risk- 
ing great battles against experienced soldiery, armed as the Spanish soldiers are, by 
soldiers gathered from all occupations, and so indifferently armed as the Cubans are. 
It is deemed by them better policy to exhaust the enemy, all of whose provisions and 
supplies have to be brought from abroad, and constantly to improve the efficiency of 
our own troops by drill, discipline, and military supplies, as we can obtain them. Not- 
withstanding this, many combats have taken place, and been officially reported to the 
junta, in which the Cubans have gained important advantages, and inflicted very 
severe loss upon the Spaniards. I have read in an official report of the Captain Gen- 
eral to the government in Spain that the Spanish army had lost fourteen thousand 
troops this year in battle and by sickness. These combats have all been conducted 
according to the customs and usages of war, by organized and enrolled men, under 
military discipline and command, and all subject to the order of a commander-in- 
chief, who is himself subject to the control of the civil government, in the same 
manner as the General of the army of the United States is subject to the President and 
Congress. 

I am acquainted with the coasts of the Island of Cuba, and I know that the vessels 
known as the Spanish gunboats are adapted to be used on these coasts for the purpose 
of cruising and committing hostilities against the citizens, subjects, and property of 
the republic of Cuba, and of the people and the district controlled by it, of which 
republic Manuel Cespedes is the duly elected President, and a true copy of the consti- 
tution of which, publicly promulgated, is submitted and attached to the affidavit of 
Mr. Tinker. 

The republic of Cuba has adopted a flag, and all its military operations are identified 
by, and conducted under, this flag, as the symbol of its power and claim to national ex- 
istence. I am informed from the island, and believe, that the republican troops are 
under good discipline. The army is composed of farmers and respectable country peo- 
ple and the emancipated blacks, and all their operations are under military control and 
the usages of war, and there is almost an entire absence of robbery or disorder within 
the lines of the republican forces. Within these lines no authority is acknowledged by 
the people but that of the republic ; and no laws are or can be executed but those of 



170 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPElNDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

the republic ; and all the civil relations of the people are regulated and controlled by 
these laws through courts and officers created by the republic. 

I have personal knowledge of the fact that Captain General Dulce sent two commis- 
sions, under a flag of truce, to General Cespedes, then the president and general-in- 
chief of the republic, to negotiate for a cessation of hostilities. These commissions 
were composed, the first of three persons, the second of two ; and they did pass under 
a flag of truce through the line of the republican forces, and held communication Avith 
General Cespedes. 

My information concerning the matters of which I have spoken is derived from nu- 
merous sources, so various that I cannot in this short time particularize them, but they 
are all, in a certain degree, official and creditable, and are such as I rely upon in the 
performance of the duties of my office, and the belief which I have expressed above is 
solemnly entertained by me without doubt of its correctness in every particular. 

MIGUEL DE ALDAMA. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me this eleventh day of December, 1869. 

CHARLES HARRIS PHELPS, 

Notary Public, County of New York. 



Havana, July 9, 1869. 

It being of the utmost importance for the extermination of the bauds of rebels which, 
till now, have been able to maintain themselves only with exterior aid, to exercise the 
utmost care and vigilance on the coasts of this island, adjacent keys and Spanish sea, 
with the object of giving a vigorous impulse to the prosecution, aud Avith the idea of 
dispelling all doubts that may present to our cruisers about the exact meaning of the 
decrees of this superior government of 9th November, 1868, and 18th and 26th Febru- 
ary, and 24th March, of 1869, I have determined to join and explain in this all the 
above dispositions, and in use of the faftilties of which I am invested by the supreme 
government of the nation, I decree hereby : 

Article 1. All the ports of the north coast from Cay Bay of Cadiz to Panta de Main, 
and in the south coast from Punta de Main to Cienfuegos, will remain closed for all 
commerce of importation and exportation, and for all ships, not only of coastwise navi- 
gation, but also of ocean navigation, with exception of Sagua, Carbarien, Nuevitas, 
Gibara, Baracoa, Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Manzanillo, Santa Cruz, Zara, Casilda 
o Trinidad, and Cienfuegos, places in which there are custom-houses. All those ships 
which will try to enter in closed ports or communicate with the shore will be pursued, 
and in case of capture will be punished as infractors of the law. 

Art. 2. Ships with cargoes of gunpowder, arms, and military supplies will be tried 
according to the same laws. 

Art. 3. The transportation of men in the service of the rebellion being much more 
important than that of contraband of war, will be considered as an act completely hos- 
tile, and in consequence the ship and crew will be tried as enemies. 

Art. 4. If the men to which the above article refers are armed, that will be con- 
sidered as a de facto proof of their intentions, and they will be tried as pirates, and the 
crew of the ship also. 

Art. 5. All ships armed in war or not, that may be captured sailing under an un- 
known flag, will also, according to law, be considered and tried as pirates. 

Art. 6. Cruisers in the free seas contiguous to the island will limitate their action on 
ships denounced, or on those whose bearings may appear suspicious, to the right con- 
signed in the treaties between Spain and the United States in 1795, and Great Britain, 
1835, and those made afterward with other nations, and if, in the exercise of these 
rights, they happen to find ships acknowledged as enemies of the integrity of the ter- 
ritory, they will take them to port for the consequent legal investigation and trial. 

CABALLERO DE RODAS. 



Affidavit of I. M. Mestre. 

City and County of New York, ss : 

I. M. Mestre, being duly sworn, says: I am a native of the island of Cuba; a law- 
yer by profession. For several years, until the beginning of the present year, I was the 
professor of jurisprudence in the University of Havana. I am now the secretary of the 
Cuban Junta in New York, and reside at No. 135 West Twenty-first street, in that city. 
As such secretary it is my duty to be informed from time to time, as communication is 
practicable, of the actual state of the revolution in Cuba, and all the circumstances 
connected with the struggle now going on there. I have read the affidavits of Aldama, 
Tinker, Cesineros, Loinaz, and Coppenger, and the statements therein concerning the 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 171 

resources and operations of the revolutionary party, their organization and administra- 
tion of civil government, the sentiments and purposes of the people, the closing of ports 
by the Captain General, are true, within my own knowledge, as derived from my own 
observation and official communications received by the junta. I concur in Mr. Alda- 
ma's statement, that, according to all the information in the possession of the junta^ 
the revolution has constantly gained strength and ground, and has never lost any of 
either from the first uprising in October, 1868. It is my solemn belief, and I know that 
that belief is concurred in by the junta, and by all persons who are in the way of 
receiving any information from that part of the island controlled by the republic, that 
the revolution is stronger to-day than ever before, and in a fair way to achieve inde- 
pendence and the liberty of all persons, according to the twenth-fourth article of its 
constitution adopted on the 10th day of April, 1869, as follows : 

" XXIV. All the inhabitants of the republic of Cuba are absolutely free." 

At the time of the late revolution in Spain, it was the desire of a large part of the 
people of Cuba to participate in the v blessings of liberty which the Spanish people 
claimed for themselves, and for this purpose a number of prominent persons, some of 
whom were officials, solicited an audience with the Captain General, at his palace in 
Havana, in order respectfully to petition for the granting of certain rights, without 
which they believed it impossible to restrain a popular outbreak. Their appeal, which 
was made with the hope of saving bloodshed, was insolently received and repelled, and 
all hope tbat Cuba would benefit by the revolution forbidden to them. I was present 
as one of this deputation, and the account of that interview, hereto annexed, is cor- 
rect. 

Communications with and from the government of the republic are necessarily un- 
frequent and irregular. But it is well known, however, that there is no serious diffi- 
culty in making a port in Cuba in which free communication can be had with the 
revolutionary government; the only real difficulty consisting in departing from or 
coming to adjacent neutral ports. 

I attach hereto a true copy of a proclamation by the Captain General, issued July 9, 
1869, containing the blockade of domestic ports against neutral countries, which was 
first decreed bv the proclamation attached to Mr. Adams's affidavit. 

. I. M. MESTRE. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 11th day of December, 1869. 

CHARLES HARRIS PHELPS, 

Notary Public, County of New York. 



Memorandum of the incidents of a meeting held at General Lersundi's palace, of several re- 
spectable and tcorthy citizens of Havana, on the 24*7* of October, 1868. 

The telegraphic news of revolutionary movements in Spain was naturally sympa- 
thized with by a majority of the people in Cuba, whose sentiments are decidedly lib- 
eral ; and the principles there proclaimed deeply agitated the public mind, inspiring 
the wish to participate in similar advantages. The desire was evident to obtain a guar- 
antee, an assurance or a direct promise, that the island was not to be cut off as before 
from the national progress, nor its inhabitants despoiled of the rights of Spanish citi- 
zens, much less be left under the imputation of being obdurate partisans of the fallen 
dynasty. The desired promise not being made, nor the guarantee obtained, fears were 
entertained as to the policy contemplated, and many suspected that Cubans would not 
be allowed the exercise of the rights acknowledged for the rest of the nation ; and not a 
few imagined that in the incipient stage of the revolution a decree might be received 
from the metropolis ordering the sudden abolition of slavery thereby imperiling the 
social existence of the country. It is proper to add that this last idea was artfully sug- 
gested by the enemies of free institutions, with a view to preserve the regime of Isabel 
in these distant regions. 

Notwithstanding the efforts made to keep order and peace, the masses were excited, 
and a rising took place far away from the capital, the leaders yet invoking in their war 
cry, "Spain, Cuba, and Freedom!" 

Thus, expectancy, anxious doubts, and alarming fears produced an extraordinary 
and indescrible situation, while the impatient could not be restrained and would claim 
what they feared would be denied ; the over cautious, little pleased with the glorious 
revolution of Spain, were a subject of annoyance to the former, who in them saw a 
powerful obstacle to their aspirations. Addresses were therefore made by one party to 
maintain statu quo, while the other rose in arms, the last resort of oppressed nations. 
Hence originated the thought of allowing a certain expansion by frank adherence to 
the principles of the provisional government of Madrid. 



172 STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

On Friday, 23d October, Messieurs Eato, Zuleta, Pelligero, Fernandez Bramosio, 
Mestre. and other aldermen, were discussing the subject in an extra official and friendly 
manner in the recess-room of the city council of Havana. It was generally granted. 
that meetings of citizens should be authorized by the government to soothe public 
anxiety, quell disturbances, and discuss the slavery question ; a few hours later invita- 
tions were received to a meeting at the Captain General's palace. The gentlemen 
mentioned at the bottom of this memorandum, aud others whose names are not remem- 
bered, appeared on the 24th October at the palace, and were shown into the private 
apartment of Lersundi, who, in a tone of evident displeasure, said he had no idea the 
meeting was to be so large, but since it was so, they could pass into the parlor, where 
there would be room for all. Once there, he said he had been told that several resi- 
dents desired to address him ; he had agreed to hear them, and though not expecting so 
many, the number only added to the honor aud pleasure with which he ought to hear 
them. 

These remarks were calculated to embarrass the invited party, who had come to hear 
the suggestions of the government rather than to initiate the subject themselves, and 
a profound silence followed. This being noticed by Lersundi, he required Kato, who 
had been one of those proposing the invitation, to state the object of the meeting. 

Senor Eato said that in the grave circumstances the island was going through 
several persons had wished to express to the Captain General sentiments of adhesion 
and personal respect. Lersundi seemed disposed then to hear others. 

Seflor Mestre then spoke. He said that his individuality was of little account, and 
that he should rather be the last than the first to speak, but the remarks of Senor Eato 
forced him to precede gentlemen with better right to take part in the conference ; he 
would speak in perfect frankness, because there are moments when all should be frankly 
told; he had conversed with Senor Eato and others, to the purpose that it was expe- 
dient to authorize or tolerate meetings for the discussion of public matters interesting 
to all, and therefore he thought it incumbent on him to make certain explanations ; he 
said the serious events happening in Spain had produced excitement aud trouble easy 
to understand ; the government in power having proclaimed the most advanced politi- 
cal creed, every Spaniard, no matter in what part of the world he found himself, should 
feel he was entitled to the enjoyment of the acknowledged rights of the revolution, 
therefore the inhabitants of Cuba could but believe that they would be extended to this 
province as an integral part of the nation. He would ask what should be done ? We 
should doubtless adopt an open and decidedly liberal course in harmony with the 
established and legal regime of the peninsula. He said that the meetings he had 
referred to were expedient as well as to give greater scope to the press in order to 
furnish public sentiment with safety valves ; that when these were closed the expansion 
would burst through clandestine issues, the danger of which it was needless to explain. 
He enjoined to take care that no disunion should ever exist between the property hold- 
ers and the advocates of advanced freed om ; that the latter should never notice disagree- 
ment between these two elements, which would cause great mischief. By the means 
he proposed, a proper expansion of feeling within reasonable bounds would be harm- 
less, and important changes would be accomplished with no danger; he said the most 
liberal policy should be held as the most conservative. This was the motive for asking 
meetings. He thought it calculated to prevent present as well as future evils. At 
these meetings honest and patriotic men would investigate the serious points now 
pending, would infuse a spirit of unity, and carry to the furthest ends of the province 
hope and a feeling of security iu the future, and thereby exercise a salutary influence 
all around. 

Senor Modet* said he adhered to all the remarks of Senor Mestre. He said that as 
a member of the Cortes he had advocated the extension of political rights to the in- 
habitants of Cuba and Porto Eico. Iu his opinion the country would become quiet if 
the legitimate hope were in any way expressed that this province Avould be assimilated 
to those of Spain, that trie liberties gloriously conquered would be enjoyed here, since 
it was known from reliable accounts that a provisional government existed in Madrid 
accepted by all the provinces, although temporary in its character. He said that by 
such means union, tranquillity, confidence, and order among the inhabitants of Cuba 
would be established. Should a doubt arise as to the proper course, he proposed the 
home government to be consulted by telegraph. 

The Captain General theu suspended the conference, saying he had understood that 
some residents desired to offer him their support, and found the contrary that they 
had come only to show mistrust, to censure his acts and address him charges to which 
he would briefly refef . It had been insinuated that the revolution had acknowledged 
certain rights to all Spaniards — that persons having constituted a provisional government 
at Madrid desired to make those rights extensive to this island ; that some one was in 
the way between the mother country aud this province, and that such party was him- 

*This gentleman, a native of Spain, and colonel of engineers, was sent to Spain by Lersundi, in conse- 
quence of this speech; he returned under Dulce, and has now been sent back, frightened away by the 
volunteers. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 173 

self. For his part lie had received no direct communications from that government, not 
even by telegraph, excepting one from the new minister of the colonies, which had 
been published entire by his order. What else could he do in favor of the island in the 
fulfillment of bis duty than overlook his own personal views and sympathies ? He 
would obey orders that might arrive from the Madrid government, the government, he 
added, of the Duke de La Torre, the government of General Serrano. He was deter- 
mined to resign his command when the time came, handing over the island in the con- 
dition he had received it. But he would in no way express adhesion, as would be 
intimated by the gentlemen who had spoken, because his loyalty rose as high as the 
throne of God. He said the remarks of Senor Mestre were analogous to those made by 
the insurgents of Yara in arms, whose conduct he seemed to excuse ; he said that such 
had been the commencement of insurrections in the Spanish countries now republics in 
America. He discussed these topics at large, and stating that the government counted 
on means adequate to suppress and punish the rebels and agitators, he remarked that 
the answer he had thought proper to give Messrs. Mestre and Modet being ended, he 
would close the conference, which ought by no means to be held longer. 

Senor Modet asked to be allowed to speak, and was refused. 

The vehemence of gesture, tone of voice, and unexpected severity of Lersundi, nat- 
urally left a most disagreeable impression on all present. They began to retire with 
evident discontent, when Senor Morales Lemustold the Captain General how much he 
regretted that his excellency should have interpreted as accusations the suggestions 
made with the best intentions ; the general insisted on the impropriety of the meetings 
asked for, saying it would be more useful if the newspaper, El Pais," should pointedly 
and energetically condemn the movement of the insurgents, or if two commissioners 
were sent to obtain their surrender. His experience taught him that no convictions were 
ever gained by debating. Sometimes, he added, as it were casually, it is unquestion- 
able that timely severity produced the best results ; the sacrifice of a few lives at a 
proper moment will save from greater and more painful losses. 

Those yet remaining at the palace departed after this effusion, and thus ended a 
scene, initiated under favorable auspices, which might have exercised a beneficial in- 
fluence on the destinies of Cuba. This new page of its history needs no comment. 

NAMES OF THOSE KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN PRESENT. 

Conde Canongo, Juan Modet, Juan Ariza, 

Apolinar Rato, Gonzalo Jorrin, Antonio Gonzalez Mendo- 

Manuel de Armas, Ramon Herrera, za, 

Conde San Ignacio, Marques Aguas-Claras, Francisco Duran Cuervo, 

Jose" Morales Lemus, Jose Villasante, Adolfo Munoz, 

Julian Zulueta, Jose"M. Morales Cerro, Sabino Ojero, 

Antonio Fernandez Bramosio, Nicolas Martinez Valdivieso, Francisco Acosta, 

Francisco Ibanez, Domingo Guillermo Arozarena, Jose" Pelligero de Lama, 

Pedro Martin Rivero, Jos6 Ruiz de Leon, Enrique Farres, 

Eduardo Alonso Colmenares, Juan Poey, Jose Antonio Echeverria, 

Conde Pozos-Dulces, Nicanor Troncoso, Pedro Sotolongo, 

Jose" Suarez Argudin, Miguel Antonio Herrera, Jose" Caraza. 

Jose" Manuel Mestre, Hilario Cisneros, Antonio Mora. 



Affidavit ofEmilio F. Cavado. 

[The affidavit of Emilio F. Cavado is omitted at the suggestion of Mr. G. P. Lowrey, 
for satisfactory reasons stated by him.] 



Affidavit of William C. Tinker. 

City and County op New York, ss : 

William Clarence Tinker, being duly sworn, doth depose and say : I am a 
native of the city of New York, and have lived in Cuba from the year 1852 up to 
April, 1869. I am extensively acquainted with the Island of Cuba and the people 
there, both the Spaniards and the native Cubans; I am related by marriage to Spaniards 
holding official positions ; one brother-in-law of mine is colonel of engineers in the 
Spanish army, and another a commander in the navy. I was educated in a military 

* El Pais, organ of tho Cubans. 



174 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

school at the city of Lippstadt, in Westphalia, ami have some acquaintance with mili- 
tary affairs. In April last, I was forced to leave the city of Havana, on account of my 
well-known sympathy with the Cuban revolution, my house having been three times 
violently searched, and myself fired upon in the streets seven times in one evening. 
The circumstances of this outrage to me, personally, are stated in the correspondence 
of the then consul general of the United States, which I suppose is on file in the State 
Department. On the 14th day of May last, I lauded at Nuevas Grandes, from the 
steamer Salvador, together Avith one hundred and fifty men, and from that time until 
the second day of August I was in the Island of Cuba, within the district thereof which 
is controlled by the insurgent government. During this time I had frequent and con- 
tinuous meetings with the various officers of the republic, and had ample opportunity 
to see the men under arms, the military disposition of forces, the civil departments of 
government, and all the operations, civil and military, of the government of the republic 
of Cuba. Upon landing, I took eight men and went forward into the country; I had 
proceeded about twelve miles when I came to the first encampment of Cuban troops, at 
San Martin. There were about eighty men there, under command of a captain; they 
were armed and uniformed; those men were placed there to act as ajiosse eomitatus, or 
guard to the civil court, which was then in session at that place, the judge, M. C. Juan 
Salvador, being appointed, as I was then informed, and afterward learned to be true, 
by the supreme court of the republic of Cuba, according to the provisions of the consti- 
tution and the laws enacted by Congress. These men were, upon my representation, 
sent down to the coast to assist in landing the cargo ; and I proceeded on and found 
several encampments of men, about the same size, all uniformed and armed, and in di- 
rect communication one with the other, by couriers. On arriving at Guaimaro, which 
is about thirty-six miles from the coast, I found that the capital had been removed the 
day before, to Berrocal, six miles from Guaimaro. When I arrived, the inhabitants of 
Guaimaro were in the streets, singing revolutionary songs, and setting fire to their own 
houses, it having been decided by the republican government to burn the town, as, in 
case it should be taken by the Spaniards, it afforded an advantageous shelter and stra- 
tegical point for them. I followed on to Berrocal, where I found the President, the Con- 
gress, and the principal officers of the civil and executive government. I found that 
the constitution had been adopted. It had not at that time been printed, and a copy 
was made for me in writing, by order of the President, which copy is hereto annexed, 
marked A; The translation annexed is a true translation. I found there many persons, 
officers of the government, with whom I had been previously acquainted, and I had 
facilities of learning all that had been done. I found the government completely 
organized — the various officers performing the duties and functions belonging to their 
offices. There were the departments of war, of finance, of the interior, and department 
of public instruction. The Congress was then in session; I attended several of its ses- 
sions ; it was proceeding according to the rules by which deliberative bodies are usually 
governed. It was presided over by a Cuban, who had formerly been a Spanish noble- 
man, but who had yielded his rank, under the constitution. He was a person of large 
wealth ; his title was Marquis St. Lucia. The Congress had enacted laws, and while I 
was there I heard debates upon matters relating to laws which were under considera- 
tion, and in my presence several enactments were voted upon and became laws. I re- 
member a question of the distribution and separation of civil and military power being 
discussed in Congress. A general, whose name I have forgotten, had claimed to exer- 
cise certain civil powers, and his right to do so was disputed in the Congress; and I 
remember, particularly, the speech of one member, M. Mendoza, formerly an editor of the 
Siglo, in Havana, who maintained that from the very beginning of the government 
in Cuba it was necessary that we should avoid the error of the Spanish government, 
and separate distinctly civil from military power. The discussion was very full ; and 
finally an act was passed, clearly defining the power of the military and civil officers. 
I was not present,. but I know, by common report, that the Congress had passed, also, 
an act making civil manages lawful, all marriages, before, having been necessary to 
be made before a priest. 

While I was there, there was an issue by the government, of paper money. I, myself, 
put the stamp of the government upon the first series of notes, by direction of the 
President and secretary of the treasury. This money was similar to American money, 
and by it the Cuban republic promised to pay to the bearer certain sums named 
thereon. I afterward had occasion to use this money, and saw it used. It was freely 
received by all at par, and change given back in gold or silver, as the case might be. 
The civil administration of justice was going on while I was there, but I did not attend 
any of the sessions of the courts. A man under my command was accused, before the 
civil court, of having stolen some property from a farm-house, and, upon complaint of 
the owner, a warrant was issued for him, and certain civil officers, corresponding to 
constables in this country, came to my camp and demanded the man, exhibiting the 
warrant and a letter from the judge, in which he notified me that one of my men had 
been accused of an offense against the civil law. I rendered the man up and he was 
taken to answer the charge. I have still with me the letter of the judge, a correct 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 175 

translation of which is annexed, marked B. During the time I was in the island, I 
visited a considerable number of the encampments of the republican army, situated 
between Puerto Principe and Santiago de Cuba. I found, in the district which I visited, 
about twelve thousand men under arms, of which one-half were thoroughly armed 
with Springfield, Enfield, and various other kinds of muskets, and the other half im- 
perfectly armed, but all carrying the machete, which is a long sword. I found that all 
the people in this district were apparently engaged in the revolution, and yielding 
obedience to the republican government. The entii'e country, with the exception of 
o-arrison towns, was in the possession, almost undisputed, of the revolutionists. I 
found that the slaves had all been liberated within this district. They were as free as 
any white citizens, to choose what they would do, or where they would go. Large 
numbers of them were in the army, and proved to be very good soldiers. I talked 
with numbers of them. They understood that they Avere free, and that their freedom 
had been given to them by. the republic of Cuba and their former masters, and they 
understood that their freedom had resulted in some way from the emancipation of 
slaves in the United States. They had pictures of Abraham Lincoln, and spoke of him 
familiarly as the emancipador, or emancipator. I have seen them fight, under the com- 
mand of white officers and under the command of black officers, and one black man, 
named Cintra, particularly distinguished himself in the action at La Cruz and Aurora. 
These were two battles at which I was present. The forces on the Cuban side at La 
Cruz were about eight hundred. It was fought in July. There were actually engaged 
about three hundred Cubans, against one hundred and fifty Spanish, who were in- 
trenched in a position of their own choosing. The Spanish lost their commander, their 
second in command, and several others killed and wounded. On that day we lost 
none, having attacked them while they were moving from one part of their intrenched 
position to another. At Aurora there were about five hundred Cubans actually engaged 
against the Spanish, whose number I am unable to judge of, fortified in a stone build- 
ing, with out-houses of stone made into block-houses. I should think there were one 
hundred men. We succeeded in capturing a neighboring encampment, and a large 
quantity of war material and stores, and afterward destroyed the encampment. I heard 
the day afterward that the Spanish lost about twenty men. Our loss was seven killed 
and twelve wounded. In each of these engagements the Cubans made the attack and 
gained their object. They were conducted under the immediate command of Generals 
Jordan, Marmol, and Gomez. The troops were maneuvered and fought under their 
respective captains, majors, and colonels. 

I was acquainted with General Dicente Garcia, commanding the department of Las 
Tunas, who informed me, (and I believe it to be true,) that he had exchanged a flag of 
truce with the commander of Las Tunas, for the purpose of exchanging Spanish offi- 
cers captured in a battle fought a few days previously, for Cubans, in possession of the 
Spanish, and for his wife and children, who were in the town. He was unable to nego- 
tiate the exchange, and it did not take place. I was at the battle of Las Calabayas 
and several others. All these military operations were conducted under the supreme 
control of one man, who was the commander-in-chief, and whose name is Manuel Que- 
sada. He had been a military officer in Mexico, fighting against Maximilian, and is a 
Cuban by birth. I found several persons there as officers who had seen military service 
in the army of the United States and in England. In traveling through the country, 
I carried with me two passports, which commanded all persons to allow me to pass. 
One was issued by the President, and the other by the commander-in-chief. They 
commanded all persons to respect me, and to assist me, and whenever I showed them 
they were universally obeyed. I had frequent occasion to use them. On leaving the 
country, I was only able to get out by means of the })assports. At the time I left, the 
revolution was in successful operation, and had lost nothing from the time it had begun, 
but had continually gained, and was then gaining both territory and force. It needed 
nothing to be perfectly successful, in my opinion, to the entire exclusion of the Span- 
ish rule from the island, but arms and ammunition. In the interior, I traveled Avith 
perfect safety, carrying a large amount of money for government use. The people who 
could not be armed were about their ordinary avocation, but were all included in some 
military company or organization, and were ready to be called upon whenever arms 
should arrive. The number in the army was only limited by the amount of arms. I 
found the people exceedingly enthusiastic, apparently everywhere devoted to the 
government of the republic, and I was everywhere entertained hospitably by them, it 
being understood I was in the service of the republic. I conversed freely with all 
classes of persons concerning the future of the republic of Cuba, and I found that 
almost unanimously they looked to the United States for recognition as soon as it 
could be given, and after that, to annexation. It was their expressed hope, and a part 
of the plan of the revolution, as understood by the people at large. A petition for an- 
nexation was, as I understood, adopted by the Congress and approved by the secretary 
of state, and forwarded to the Department of State at Washington. The people were 
depending very largely for the final success of the republican government in Cuba 
upon the friendship and. support of the people of the United States, and the wish most 



176 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OP CUBA. 

frequently expressed was, that they should he permitted to hecome a part of this 
country. It was common for officers of the government to wear upon their hats the 
stars and stripes on one side, and on the other the Cuban cockade. To my knowledge, 
a very great number of the officers of the government were persons who had been 
educated in the United States, who were well acquainted with their institutions, and 
who had been for years anxiously desiring to bring about this revolution and obtain 
annexation. They were well acquainted with the American form of government, and 
avowed that they had inaugurated this revolution to obtain such a government for 
Cuba. 

Soon after I arrived there the capital was permanently located uear Sibanicu, at a 
place to which the government had removed, because they fouud there ample buildings 
and accommodations for all the departments of government. Sibanicu is the general 
name of the locality. From that place there is direct communication by high roads 
with several parts of the island, and it is on the main road from Puerto Principe to 
Santiago de Cuba, both of which places were iu the hands of the Spaniards. Sibanicu 
is only forty-eight miles from Puerto Principe, on a good road. The country about it is 
all open and cultivated. There was but a small military force there ; the main forces being 
thrown further out. There are certain lines of defense which had been assumed before 
I arrived, and which were maintained up to the time of my leaving, and which, from 
late reports, I know to be still held. These lines of defense were, from Nuevitas on the 
north to Puerto Principe, a distance of about eighty-five miles, and from Puerto Prin- 
cipe to Santa Cruz on the south. There is also a line of communication which has been 
held uninterruptedly from the beginning, from Puerto Principe to Ciago de Avila. Unin- 
terrupted communication is kept up along the different roads leading to the Five City 
district. That line is about one hundred and eighty miles long from Puerto Principe 
westward. The military encampments were all in communication with eacli other by 
couriers aud a regular system of communications. Postal arrangements had been per- 
fected by the republican government throughout all the region controlled by it, which 
is about two-thirds of the whole island, and I myself sent and received communications 
through this post. There was no difficulty in communicating by post anywhere through 
that part of the island. I left the island on the 2d of August. I have received com- 
munications from the island up to within about ten days ago, and I believe that the 
revolution has been in no way retarded since that time, excejjt from scarcity of powder 
and arms, and that it has continually gained in numbers and territory. There was a 
government printing office at the capital, and two papers were published there. 

I annex hereto a paper which contains a copy of the constitution and the debates in 
Congress, which is marked Exhibit C. I also annex a proclamation (marked Exhibit D) 
abolishing slavery, issued by the government of the republic before the adoption of the 
constitution. I also annex hereto two proclamations (marked Exhibits E and F) issued 
by the President of the republic, to the people. Bulletins of war were issued from time 
to time for the information of the people. There were numerous ports to which the 
Cubans had access at any time, and in which they received such supplies as had suc- 
ceeded in getting away from the United States, Jamaica, and other places ; but they 
made no efforts to hold those ports, because they had not the means of resisting the 
artillery of ships, and it was their policy to go from port to port, so as not to attract the 
attention of Spanish cruisers. They relied upon the signals of their cordons of sentinels 
to inform them when it was necessary to concentrate upon any one point for the purpose 
of receiving arms or ammunition. I am not aware of any function or power ordinarily 
exercised by a government for which provision was not made, or which was not exer- 
cised, within the district controlled by the republican government, so far as there was 
any call or occasion for such exercise. The republican government had all the para- 
phernalia, accompaniments, and incidents of a regularly organized government. The 
President executed the laws simply, and did not interfere in military matters. The 
commander-in-chief had entire control of the armies, and did not in any way interfere 
with the civil administration. The general division of powers and duties was very 
similar to (and copied after) that in the government of the United States, and was 
strictly observed so far as was compatible with a state of war. A stranger coming into 
the district lying south of a line drawn from Nuevitas to Puerto Principe aud Santa 
Cruz, excepting within the walls of four or five garrisoned towns, would have, in my opin- 
ion, no reason to suppose that any other government prevailed, or had ever prevailed, 
there than the government of the republic of Cuba. The people were engaged about their 
ordinary avocations, and no government was spoken of or admitted except the government 
of the republic of Cuba, and no laws were or could be enforced there, unless by the aid of 
overwhelming military force, except those of the republic. The part of the country of 
which I have spoken is principally devoted to grazing, but is in a very considerable 
degree cultivated, only about one-sixth of it being wild land ; and throughout that 
district every right of private persons was provided for and protected solely by the 
laws and power of the republic. There were certain special enactments intended to do 
away with abuses of power which had been common on the part of the Spanish soldiery 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA.. 177 

* 

before the revolution. These special enactments of which I speak instructed the people 
as to their rights, and advised them, in case of any infringement of those rights by the 
military, to apply immediately to the nearest court. These enactments were posted 
in different places for the information of the people, and particularly in the court- 
rooms. 

I know that the Cuban Republic has also issued letters of marque and reprisal, and 
commissions for the Cuban navy. I have seen several of such commissions, and I know 
also that the officers in command in Cuba were acting under commissions issued by 
the war department. I saw several of their commissions, and the officers exercised 
command and control according to the rank mentioned in their commissions. Rank 
was acknowledged according to established military usage. To my knowledge, the 
republic of Cuba has purchased a number of vessels, with the view of constituting a 
navy. 

WILLIAM C. TINKER. 

Sworn and subscribed before me this eleventh day of December, 1869. 

CHARLES HARRIS PHELPS, 

Notary Public, County of New York. 



Affidavit of Francis Coppinger. 

State of New York, City and County of New York, ss : 

Francis Coppinger, being duly sworn, says : I am a native of Cuba, born at Ha- 
vana, and have lived there all my life, until about the beginning of this year, when I 
came to New York, by order of the President of the republic of Cuba. I reside at pres- 
ent at the St. George Hotel, corner of 20th street and Broadway, New York. 

In May last I returned to Cuba, and engaged in the military service of the Cuban 
government. I was at first in active service, in command of a company, with the rank 
of lieutenant ; and, as such, between May and August, took part in several battles and 
skirmishes ; of the former the three most important were those at Ramon, Cuaba, and 
Calabazas, in each of which the Cuban force engaged numbered from five hundred to 
seven hundred men. I was afterward attached to the staff of General Peralta, with 
the rank of captain. Each state of the Cuban territory had been divided into military 
districts, each under command of a general, and General Peralta was such general in 
command of the military district of Holquin, in the State of Oriente. 

It was the duty of the staff officers to carry on communication between their general 
and the next superior military authority, and I was thus engaged, while on staff duty, 
in carrying dispatches and instructions between General Peralta and General Jordan, 
who was, at that time, in command of the whole State of Oriente. The organization of 
the Cuban army, and all departments of the military service were, at the time to which 
I refer, similar in all the States to that in Oriente. 

While I was in the island I traveled from Holquin to Las Tunas, through the center 
of the island, a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles. In all this territory I 
found the civil department of the revolutionary government, the State governments, 
the prefectures, the constabulary or civil police, the postal service, and all the ordinary 
civil administration fully organized, and in regular and systematic operation. The 
military occupation of the country was complete, and all the separate camps and bodies 
of soldiers of the Cuban army, however separated from each other, were all parts of 
one military system, and all under commands, subordinate, in different grades, to the 
commander-in-chief, who received his authority immediately from the Congress. 

I would like to add, that when I was in the island the former slaves were all free, 
having been made so by virtue of that clause of the Cuban constitution which secures 
freedom to all inhabitants of the State. The negroes were enrolled in the Cuban army, 
and were armed, equipped, and uniformed, like the Cubans, and held in equal respect 
in the service. There were, in my company of sixty men, several negroes, who had 
been slaves up to the time of their emancipation by the Cuban government. 

As to the celebration of marriages in that part of the island which was controlled by 
the revolutionary party, it came under my notice that marriage was no longer regarded 
by the Cubans as a sacrament, nor was the ceremony performed, as it had always been 
under the Spanish dominion, by the priesthood exclusively ; but, by virtue of the consti- 
tution, it was regarded as a civil contract, and the rite was performed by civil officers. 
I attended, myself, the celebration of such a marriage according to the new Cuban 
laws. 

Deponent further says, that he has heard read the depositions of William C. Tinker 
and Enrique Loynaz, and that the statements contained in them, respectively, as to the 
civil and military affairs of the Cuban government, and their administration, coincide 

H. Ex. Doc. 160 12 



178 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

I 
■with deponent's own experience and knowledge on those subjects, and that the state- 
ments made by said Tinker and Loynaz in regard to them are true. 

F. COPPINGER. 

Sworn and subscribed before me this eleventh day of December, 1869. 

ARCHIBALD F. CUSHMAN, 
Notary PuMic in and for City and County of New York. 



Affidavit of Enrique Loinaz. 

City and County of New York, ss : 

Enrique Loinaz, being duly sworn, says : I am a native of Puerto Principe, in the 
Island of Cuba. 1 joined the revolution in Cuba on the 25th of December, 1868. I left 
the Island of Cuba on the 8th of September last, and am now remaining here under orders 
from the President. For some time I commanded a company of volunteers in the republi- 
can army, and afterward was promoted to the staff of Manuel Quesada, and held, and 
now hold, the rank of major. I have participated in about twelve actions of considerable 
importance, besides many skirmishes. The largest number of men which I have ever 
known to be engaged on the Cuban side was at the battle of Las Tunas, at which I 
was present, and which took place at the town of Las Tunas, about the 16th or 17th of 
August last — I do not remember which. In that battle there were four brigades, of 
one hundred and seventy-five men each, engaged, besides thirty, the escort of the 
general-in-chief, and forty men of the President's escort. The President was present at 
the battle. The Cubans attacked the Spanish forces, consisting of about six hundred 
line troops and two hundred volunteers, 1 who were intrenched in the center of the town, 
in the plaza. The combat lasted from four o'clock in the morning until three o'clock in 
the afternoon. The Cubans drove the Spaniards into their intrenchments in the church, 
a building in the square, and held them there, sacking the town and capturing the 
medicines, clothing, some guns, military stores, and other things. The attack was 
made for the purpose of rescuing families of Cubans that were perishing in the town, and 
these families being removed, the Cubans retired. We captured fourteen standards or 
battle flags. Our loss was forty dead and eighty-five wounded. I do not know the Span- 
ish loss, but it was reported by a captain, whom we captured, to be about two hundred. 
This battle, and all the others in which I have participated, Avere conducted under mil- 
itary orders and under the control and management of officers of different rank, each 
yielding obedience to the other, and the troops engaged were disciplined troops, who 
had been trained and accustomed to military movements, and who were held, in all 
their operations, in strict military discipline. They are never permitted to engage, 
and have never engaged, in any fighting except under military orders, discipline, and 
subject to the plans of the commander-in-chief. At the time I left, the government of 
the republic held exclusive control of all the Island of Cuba lying south of a line drawn 
from Nuevitas, on the Atlantic coast, to Puerto Principe, and thence to Santa Cruz, on 
the Caribbean Sea, except. a few garrrison towns and encampments along the railroad 
established from Nuevitas to Puerto Principe. All the rest of the country, which is 
mostly an open, cultivated, inhabited country, was exclusively occupied or controlled 
by the republican government, and no Spanish laws were, or could be enforced, except 
by the presence of overwhelming military force. The laws of the republic were volun- 
tarily obeyed by the people, or executed by simple civil force, such as by constables or 
prefects. Throughout this district complete postal arrangements were established by 
the republic, and regular service of mails kept up by its officers. Post offices were 
established at villages and farm-houses on the public high roads. The Spaniards were 
under great difficulties to hold their position in the garrison towns, and we were con- 
stantly occupied in attacking their convoys, and many combats ensued in this way, and 
we were able to capture, and did capture, frequently, their convoys and appropriated their 
material of war. This was particularly the case as to the town of Las Tunas. The town of 
Las Tunas was an important station for them, was situated about thirty-six miles from 
the north coast, and connected by three high roads with three forts, only about thirty- 
six miles distant. I have often heard it estimated, and believe it to be true, that since 
the breaking out of the revolution the Spaniards have lost over two thousand men in 
maintaining this communication, and have frequently lost their convoys. These cir- 
cumstances have come to my knowledge in the performance of my duties as staff offieer. 
The Spaniards have never been able to penetrate the surrounding country from these 
towns more then two or three miles. They have never made the attempt, except in 
one or two cases, when they have been driven back. The people in the country are all 
loyal to the republic, and immediately give information of any movement among the 
Spanish troops. The negroes in that district have all been freed. They understand 
that they are free, and it is so understood by all persons, and they are given by the 
constitution and the laws all the rights and privileges of citizenship that are given to 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 179 

white persons. Even in addressing them the former owners of slaves address them by 
their names as eitfeen so-and-so. 

At the time I left Cuba the revolution had been constantly gaining, and had never 
lost anything, either in force or in territory. The army was increasing in numbers as 
fast as they could be supplied, and persons, who, at the beginning, had been wavering 
and doubtful, were giving their adhesion to the government of the republic. I have 
not seen or heard anything since leaving there to induce me to suppose that the revo- 
lution is in any less forward condition than when I left, but on the contrary, I believe 
that it is able to hold its own for a long time without any more succor, and that, with 
a few more arms and with sufficient ammunition, the Spanish authorities could be 
entirely driven from the island by the forces now here. We need nothing from outside 
the island except arms and munitions. I know from my experience that the Cubans, 
almost without exception, are for the republic. On the other hand, native Spaniards 
on the island are almost without exception against the republic. The lines of defense 
which were held, and, according to my information, are still held by the republican 
forces, were taken up by them about February last, and have been maintained uninter- 
ruptedly ever since. I have read the affidavit of Mr. William C. Tinker, who is known 
to me, and who was with me in Cirba. The facts stated by him concerning the condi- 
tion of the country, the action of the government, the administration of the law, and 
the amount of forces are true, within my own knowledge. In the entire island there 
are over thirty thousand men in the republican army. In the central department, with 
which I had more immediate connection, there were over ten thousand, organized and 
under discipline. Of these, three thousand were armed with all sorts of guns, carbines, 
muskets, and rifles ; the others were all armed with the machete, a long sword, and 
frequently went into action with only this weapon. Of the fire-arms in that depart- 
ment, about one-third had been captured from the Spaniards. There are about eighty 
thousand men remaining, ready to take arms as soon as arms can be procured. I was 
commanding the siege of Nuevitas, in January last. During that siege, I received and 
entertained a flag of truce from the Spaniards, and, twice after that, having occasion, 
I sent flags of truce to them, which were received and entertained. The communica- 
tion sent by me was from General Quesada to the governor of Nuevitas, and the com- 
munication was replied to by him. The flag of truce which they sent to me accompa- 
nied three commissioners who were appointed by the Spanish authorities to communi- 
cate with the Cuban committee, which, at that time, had charge of the Cuban affairs, 
that being before the election of Congress. These commissioners were given a safe-con- 
duct, and passed on through our lines to communicate with our committee. One of the 
communications under flag of truce by General Quesada, sent by me, related to an ex- 
change of prisoners, which exchange was finally refused by the Spaniards. By procla- 
mation of the Captain General, issued in January last, six large ports, which were 
formerly ports of entry, have been closed to commerce, and all intercourse with those 
ports forbidden. The civil government has made arrangements, which are now in 
operation, by which the local constabulary and prefects of each county are charged 
with the distribution of rations to the families of persons who are in the field and the 
persons who are discharged and unable to support themselves. This distribution of 
rations takes place extensively and constantly, and is sufficient for the wants of the 
people. The inhabitants are perfectly united in support of the revolution, and seem 
willing to devote, and have devoted, their entire time and property to its success, with- 
out any complaint or objection, and, in my opinion, it would be impossible to find a 
population more united and determined than is this population in its determination to 
throw off Spanish tyranny. The commander-in-chief has been named by Congress, 
and is under the same control by the President as are generals of armies of the United 
States. The troops are all organized into companies, battalions, and brigades, and are 
not permitted to go upon any roving expeditions, or to separate themselves in any way 
from their commands ; and property captured by them is always turned over to the 
commander of the district, for the republic. 

ENRIQUE LOINAZ. 

Subscribed and- sworn to before me this 11th day of December, 1869. 

CHARLES HARRIS PHELPS, 

Notary Public, County of New York. 



Affidavit of Francis Xavier Cisneros. 

City and County of New York, ss : 

Francis Xavier Cisneros, being duly sworn, says: I am a native of Cuba, 
having been born at Santiago de Cuba, and for the greater part of the last fifteen 
years, and until recently, have been a resident of Havana. I was by profession 
a civil engineer in that city. I am living for the present in the city of New 



180 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

York, at No. 254 West Twenty-fourth street. In May, of this year, I left New 
York for Cuba, and arrived there about the eleventh day of that tnonth. Upon my 
arrival I communicated with the republican general, in command of the district, Gen- 
eral Peralta, and then with the commander-in-chief, General Quesada, and then went 
to the seat of government, at Sibanicu, and communicated there with the secretaries of 
the Cuban government, whom I found in the active administration of the business of 
their several departments. From that time up to the first of August I was constantly 
traveling in the island, and especially traversed that part of it which lies between 
Santo Espiritu, about the central portion of the island, and Santiago de Cuba, near 
the eastern extremity, a distance of about three hundred and fifty miles. I made this 
journey at the instance of the government of Cuba, for the purpose of inspecting the 
condition of affairs under the government, and the progress of the revolution. This I 
was instructed to do, in order to make a report of my observations to the Cuban Junta, 
at New York. This district to which I have referred is only a portion of the territory 
which is occupied and controlled by the revolutionists, and. which is more than two- 
thirds of the area of the island. This republican territory is bounded by lines extend- 
ing from Santiago de Cuba, on the Caribbean Sea, near the eastern part of the island, 
to Baracoa, on the Atlantic Ocean ; from Baracoa to Sagua la Grande, along the north- 
ern coast ; thence across the island to the Bay of Broa, on the Caribbean Sea ; and 
thence along the southern coast to Santiago de Cuba. The total extent of the island 
is about thirty-six thousand square miles, of which the republican territory, just de- 
scribed, embraces about twenty-four thousand square miles. This territory includes 
some wild tracts, but for the most part is open, cultivated country. It embraces some 
of the considerable cities of the island — say nine or ten — which were then in the pos- 
session of the Spaniards ; but a larger number — say twenty or thirty — of the consid- 
erable towns, with numerous smaller villages and all the open country to which I have 
referred, were occupied and controlled by the republicans. The occupation of these 
large towns by the Spaniards compelled them to withdraw large bodies from their 
fighting force for garrison duty. This district, also extending to the sea, on both the 
northern and southern sides of the island, embraces many ports to which the Cubans 
had free access ; but having as yet no means of fortifying those places, they had made 
no attempt to hold exclusive possession of them. Within this district, between May 
and August, I visited almost all the military encampments of the revolutionists, about 
thirty in number. At some of the camps there were as many as two thousand men, 
and at none less than two hundred and fifty. To the best of my judgment and belief, 
there were in all those camps, in May, about fifteen thousand well-armed soldiers ; and 
in August, when I left the island, there were, I should think, about twenty thousand. 
The Cuban forces were encamped around most of the principal towns occupied by the 
Spaniards, and prevented communication by the Spaniards between those towns. 
Besides the force of regular soldiers in camp, the entire male population throughout 
the district I have described was organized as a volunteer military force, but, being 
■ without arms, could not be brought into actual military service. 

The Cuban republic was divided into four States, and each of those States was sub- 
divided into districts, each district being placed under the command of a general, 
appointed by the government. Each of these generals had control of all the forces in 
his district, subject to the commander-in-chief; so that all the forces of the revolu- 
tionists were under the supreme command of General Quesada, the general-in-chief 
who was appointed by the Cuban Congress. 

During my stay in the island there were frequent conflicts between the Cuban and 
the Spanish forces, in many of which I participated ; in the most important of those 
in which I took part, which took place on the 18th of June, at Calabazas, the Cuban 
forces numbered about seven hundred. The Spaniards had attacked, but were 
repelled, and retreated. A few days before, a fight had taken place, in which, as I was 
then informed, and believe, the Cubans numbered fifteen hundred. Many other combats 
took place with various results. The condition of the country was one of constant 
fighting between considerable forces, and, on the part of the Cubans, all of the battles 
were conducted under the control of the commander-in-chief. 

At the time of my visit to the island, the Cuban revolutionary party had already 
adopted a constitution embodying a republican form of government, guaranteeing the 
liberty of the press, of religion, and education, and abolishing slavery ; it had also a 
completely organized government, represented by a President and Congress, and sec- 
retaries of state, war, treasury, and interior, and other officers and bodies. The 
Congress was composed of eighteen delegates, elected by the people from all parts of 
the island ; it was, at the time to which I refer, in session, and I attended many of its 
meetings. The elections for governors of the States took place during my stay on the 
island, and were participated in by all the inhabitants of the district described by me, 
except of the towns garrisoned by the Spaniards. 

The capital of the republican government was at Sibanicu, a town situated in the 
interior, in an open plain, on the great central highway of the island, and approached 
by good roads from all directions. 



STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 181 

The island had then also heen divided by the Congress into four States, namely, 
Oriente, Camaguay, Las Villas, Occidente ; governors of each of these States had been 
elected by their inhabitants, and they had assumed and were administering their 
offices. The government had also established and maintained regular postal service 
throughout all its territory ; had created courts and appointed judges and sheriffs or 
prefects; the local judges had opened and were holding their courts; the supreme 
court of the state was not yet convened ; the court administered laws which had been 
enacted by the Cuban Congress, and which were universally recognized and enforced 
throughout the territory of the Cuban government which I have described. 

F. J. CISNEROS. 

Sworn and subscribed before me this 11th day of December, 1869. 

CHARLES HARRIS PHELPS, 

Notary Public, County of New York. 



III.— CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND 
CONSULAR REPRESENTATIVES IN CUBA. 

No. 122. 

Mr. La Beintrie to Mr. Seward.* 

USTo. 105.] Havana, October 17, 1868. 

Sir : Buinors are prevalent in this city, to which many attach credit, 
that the telegraph wires beyond Puerto Principe have been cut, and 
the insurgents (progressive party of Cuba) are rising in various parts 
of the island, with the view of asserting their independence from the 
mother country. 

It is even said that movements are now on foot on this end of the 
island to proclaim the independence of Cuba, and the friends of liberty 
would rejoice to see the United States come to their aid in some shape. 

The Catalans in Cuba are opposed to slavery, and it is expected they 
will unite with the native Cubans and negroes in declaring themselves 
free. 

The arrival of the next mail steamer from Spain, expected on or 
about the 25th of this month, is looked to with great anxiety, and the 
reticence of the Captain General on the subject of the political situation 
in Spain is a cause of great discontent among the people. 

I have understood, to-day, that the fortifications around and about 
this city are being strengthened and put in fighting condition. 

Several domiciliary visits were made last night, and the houses of 
persons suspected of republican proclivities were searched by the po- 
lice ; among those so visited was Mr. Posada, .a naturalized citizen of 
the United States. 

In view of this probably approaching crisis, it would be well to have 
a squadron here. 

Her Britannic Majesty's ship Favorite, with a strong battery, ar- 
rived here three days ago, and salutes were interchanged between her 
and the city. 

As I have so little time to run about I give you the news as it is 
brought to me at the office. 

* These dispatches (122, 123, and 124) precede the correspondence sent to the Senate 
December 20, 1869. 



182 STKUGGEE FOK INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

No. 123. 
Mr. La Beintrie to Mr. Seward. 

No. 107.] Havana, October 24, 1S68. 

* # # # # 

Since my dispatches treating upon the political situation of this city 
and island, the excitement has been steadily increasing in all directions, 
and consequently the most active and stringent measures have been 
adopted by the Captain General to suppress any movement of a revolu- 
tionary character. 

The national guard has been called out, say some five thousand men, 
to preserve order, while the regulars are sent out in various directions 
to put down the insurgents. 

The authorities here inform us officially that the revolt in Manzanillo, 
Tunas, Gibara, and Zarra has been put down, while the opposition 
claim to have defeated the government troops ; but the fact that more 
troops have been sent to the support of the government forces would 
suggest that the insurgents are still in arms. 

It is said that the revolutionary forces now amount to four thousand 
men of all arms in the district embracing the towns above mentioned. 

On Monday, the 19th instant, I called on General Lersundi to ascer- 
tain, if possible, the truth. His replies to me generally tended to assure 
me that he was amply prepared to face all opposition, from whatever 
quarter it might come. 1 suggested the propriety of my telegraphing 
to the Secretary of State for a naval force for the protection of our cit- 
izens and interests in this quarter. He assured me that he deemed it 
unnecessary, and would give me notice whenever the emergency arose 
to warrant my telegraphing to Washington. 

He desired to know of me whether any filibuster expeditions were 
. likely to come from the United States. I replied that I believed it was 
not likely; but certainly not with the consent of our government — that 
he might rely upon. He expressed himself highly gratified, and alluded 
to his sending Santa Anna off as a proof of his good faith in prevent- 
ing like organizations. On the termination of our intervie w he informed 
me that his object and desire was " to preserve to Spain the Island of 
Cuba" — "Conservar la Ysla de Cuba para la Espana." 

Yesterday, 23d instant, rumors were thick throughout the city of an 
intended rising of the republicans and negroes in this city for a general 
massacre and pillage. The excitement consequent almost paralyzed all 
commercial transactions. 

A run was made upon the Banco Espanol, and their notes to-day are 
at a discount of some three per cent. 

Numerous arrests have been made, among them some naturalized cit- 
izens of the United States, but as they have not called upon me for 
redress or protection, I shall await their complaints before taking any 
action. 

In view of the situation, and deeming it critical, I request the pres- 
ence of a strong naval force. 

I inclose the programme of the republican committee of Havana, 
printed, I think, at Matanzas, and the extra of the " Diario de la 
Marina" of yesterday, which will give you additional information 
respecting the .political views of the two parties now contending for 
political supremacy in Cuba. 

At Bayamo the government troops have been defeated, and the city 



STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 183 

of Puerto Principe is said to have pronounced and risen against its 
authorities. 

It is also probable that a declaration of the independence of Cuba 
from Spain may be issued from Puerto Principe. The people of the in- 
terior will accept nothing short of entire separation from Spain, and if 
their movement be successful they will proclaim either their independ- 
ence as a separate state or annexation to the United States. Should a 
government de facto be established there, 1 should bike to have instruc- 
tions how to act in that case. Perhaps instructions may be also given 
to the commanding naval officer sent here, to consult and act in har- 
mony and conjunction with me in the emergency indicated, 



No. 124. 

Mr. La Beintrie to Mr. Seward. 

No. 119.] Havana, December 14, 1868. 

I have only time to inclose to you a copy of a letter I have this mo- 
ment received from Mr. Gibbs, the United States consular agent at 
ISuevitas, which gives you the latest news from that quarter. 



United States Consular Agency, 

Nuevitas, December 11, 1868. 

Dear Sir : Your very esteemed favor of 2d instant duly received. 

I notice that you have asked for a squadron, and hope it will soon arrive, as Amer- 
ican interests want it hadly. As I understand, Spanish gunboats have boarded Amer- 
ican vessels and searched them, to the eastward of this island, Avhen they were out of 
sight of land. The gunboat Africa has been employed in this service for some time, 
and arrived here on the 8th. I was also informed that an American schooner from St. 
Thomas, bound to Baracoa, was hove-to, and the said gunboat sent aboard a boat's 
crew and took possession of her, overhauling papers and cargo, and after detaining 
her some time let her pass on her voyage. This has come indirectly to me from per- 
sons on board. 

I have tried by all possible means to get true information of the affairs around here, 
but it is difficult. 

Since I wrote on the 3d the troops of Valmaseda have remained at San Miguel ; 
from all that I can find out by different channels of information, his loss of killed and 
wounded on his march from Puerto Principe amounts to one hundred and fifty men ; 
he brought here in the afternoon of the 3d, per gunboat, about forty wounded, most 
part from waist upward ; several have died since their arrival here, and more are ex- 
pected to die. 

By all accounts the insurgents on the 1st instant fought with desperation, and 
harassM the troops from ten in the forenoon until night. I cannot find out anything 
about the losses of the insurgents, but from all sides that I can learn I infer that they 
were few. To persons who have passed through their lines they positively state that 
in the attack of the 28th ultimo there was. only one killed and four wounded, and 
that the attacking party were only sixty. They stated that they buried about forty 
of the troops. 

Some three or four days ago two young men, insurgents, were shot in Principe, 
names Padillo and Barroso, about seventeen and eighteen years of age. They were 
taken prisoners on entering the town, and there was found on their persons a pass or 
safe conduct, signed by one of the chiefs or commanders of the insurgents, tbat they 
might go to Principe and return. Great efforts were made by all classes in town to 
save their lives, but useless. 

I greatly fear that this department will be laid waste and devastated. I am in- 
formed on good authority that Valmaseda destroyed everything on his march twelve 
miles before he entered San Miguel. He burned two sugar estates, the Isabel and La 
Union, and a small one, El Destino ; fences were destroyed and cut down, and all kind 
of live stock shot and left to rot on the road. 



184 STEUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

After he took possession of San Miguel it appears that a corporal of a guard was 
treacherously shot, and the infuriated soldiers sacked the town, with the exception of 
three houses. Yesterday forty negroes from plantation St. Linus, ahout twelve miles 
from here, came in and presented themselves to the government of this town, stating 
that their master wanted them to take arms, and they refused. This I know to he 
untrue, as I am well acquainted with the owners and know that they have nothing to 
do with this insurrection, one of them having last October purchased over thirty thou- 
sand dollars' worth of machinery in the United States, and sent it here for his estate. 

Here a deadly hatred exists between the Spaniards and Cubans that is growing 
stronger day by day. There is no half way, no room for compromise ; ninety-five out 
of every hundred of the natives are heart and soul in the rebellion, if not bodily. I 
don't care how neutral a man may be, how loyal he may be, how his interests may 
incline him to peace, the very fact of his being a native-born is enough in the eyes of 
the bigoted Spaniard to make him an enemy ; and it can be plainly seen, as they are 
impotent to cope with the rebellion, they are determined to ruin the island and leave 
it withered and destroyed. 

If this thing spreads it must have a great effect to the injury of the United States. 
I suppose Cuban produce pays over twenty-five millions of dollars into the United 
States treasury yearly, for imports. American merchants must have some millions 
advanced to planters on this island ; I know one house in Brooklyn which has advanced 
alone in this district nearly one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 

Up to the 1st of December the insurgents held all the country in every direction, 
excepting the cities and seaports. No outrages were committed; every thing and 
person were respected ; only demands were made on planters and cattle farms for beef 
for their maintenance. The field hands were not molested, but on account of Valma- 
seda's behavior and actions, attacking the estates and carrying off the negroes, all is 
changed. Three days ago two farm-houses, some three or four miles from here, belong- 
ing to Spaniards, were burnt and destroyed, and all their stock carried off by the 
insurgents. To the south of this, on the night of the 9th, a large light was seen, and 
it is supposed some other estate or farm was destroyed. Guamaja, a small town to the 
westward of this some twenty-five miles, was taken possession of by the insurgents. 
A small force of troops and sailors were dispersed, two killed, two wounded, and nine 
prisoners ; tbe rest escaped in a boat belonging to the government. 

From officers who have been with the troops between Mariti and Las Tunas I learn 
that they have to be in large bodies to convey the provisions, and are continually 
harassed by guerillas. 

I am very sorry to report as yet I have not had the great pleasure of seeing an 
American man-of-war in this harbor this year. 
Yours, respectfully, 

EICHAED GIBBS, 
United States Consular Agent. 

H. E. de La Eeintbie, Esq., 

Vice-Consul General, Havana, Cuba. 

A true and correct copy of the original. 

LA EEINTEIE. 
Havana, December 14, 1868. 



No. 125. 
Mr. de La Eeintrie to Mr. Seivard. 

No. 130.] Havana, January 29, 1869. 

The inclosed copies and translations of a correspondence between 
this consulate general and the Captain General of this island, under date 
of the 25th instant, will bring to you the sad news of the murder of Mr. 
Samuel Alexander Conner, a citizen of the United States, and, so far as 
I can learn, a native of the State of New York. He was also at one 
time an employe in the navy of the United States. 

Although I have not been thus far enabled to ascertain the name of 
the assassin, it is generally thought that he met his death at the hands 
of some one of the volunteers, recently organized in this city with the 
view of maintaining the public peace and order by General Lersundi. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 185 

These volunteers are displeased with the new system inaugurated 
here by General Dulce, and for the past two weeks had roamed about the 
city at will, and without their officers, uttering threats of vengeance 
against all Cubans and foreigners who did not agree with them in polit- 
ical opinions. 

As the nights set in their demonstrations were more open, hailing 
and stopping all passers, with bayonet to their breasts, and compelling 
them to cry out " Yiva Espana." The freedom of the press having been 
granted by General Dulce, it extended to the theaters where new local 
and other piquant plays were presented to the public. 

This occurred particularly at the Villanueva Theater in this city, 
where, on Thursday, 21st instant, the performance was of a very liberal 
character, and elicited repeated bursts of applause from the audience. 
I was myself present, with my family, by invitation of the manager, 
and the entire play passed off without any incident to mar the pleasures 
of the evening. The next day, Friday, 22d instant, reports of the 
character of the performance spread in every direction, and a very large 
concourse of pleasure seekers attended. In the mean time a large body 
of the volunteers, without orders to that effect, gathered in the vicinity 
of the theater, and, as the applause arose from the audience, surrounded 
the building and commenced firing upon the assembled audience. 

The military governor and chief of police, after great exertions, and 
aided by a few of the troops which were still under their control, suc- 
ceeded finally in preventing the infuriated and riotous volunteers from 
firing the building, a perfect tinder-box ; and after ordering them to 
their quarters, the audience were enabled to return to their houses. 
The result, seven killed and many others wounded. 

The next day, Saturday, the 23d instant, General Dulce issued a 
brief address severely condemning the conduct of the volunteers, but 
in such vague terms that it would be difficult to say whether he meant 
the actors and audience, or the riotous volunteers. He may possibly 
have desired to address both. This, however, seemed to have no effect 
upon the volunteers, and on Sunday morning, 24th instant, it was pub- 
licly said they would attack thje Louvre, the largest public cafe and res- 
taurant in this city, kept by a Spaniard (native of Spain) universally 
esteemed as a good citizen by all classes. Accordingly the volunteers 
of the fifth and sixth battalions, and of others, on Sunday night col- 
lected around the Louvre, and, as it is said, a shot from a revolver was 
fired upon them from the roof of said building ; whether true or not I 
have no means of ascertaining. This was about 9 p. m., and in less 
than thirty seconds after the firing of this shot the volunteers began 
shooting into the building and upon the persons there present ; also, at 
all passers-by and in the vicinity of the Louvre. Mr. Cohner was killed 
at the corner of Consulado and San Miguel streets, full six hundred yards 
in a diagonal direction from the Louvre, which occupies one of the 
corners of the large block of buildings erected near and fronting the 
prado or main public park of this city. 

It is clear to me that he could not have been shot by any of those im- 
mediately engaged in the assault upon the Louvre, as the distance was 
great and the intervening walls and masonry would naturally forbid such 
a presumption. 

This being the case, and the firing by volunteers upon Mr. Tinker, in 
the same street where Mr. Conner's dead body was found, leads to the 
inevitable conclusion that he met his death at the hands of a portion of 
said volunteers ; and further, as the owner himself, Mr. Payret, of the 
Louvre, has informed me he was forewarned full 12 hours, and by seve- 



186 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

ral of his friends, previous to the attack upon his premises, I must also 
conclude that the outrage was a premeditated one on the part of these 
lawless volunteers, and that they were posted around and about the 
block with the purpose and intent to attack all persons attempting to 
evade their murderous designs. In this connection it must also be 
borne iu mind that the Louvre is resorted to by both Cubans and for- 
eigners, and of the most respectable classes. Fortunately, and at the 
time, and the public notoriety given to the intended attack, kept many 
from resorting to the Louvre that evening. The residt of this brutal act 
of vandalism is the cold-blooded murder of Mr. Cohner, an American 
citizen, both peaceful and respectable, a photographer by profession and 
in which he had acquired a competent fortune, and of seven other per- 
sons, including also many others severely wounded; of the latter 
two are Prussians. 

Having accomplished their fiendish act of brutality and vandalism, 
the cry was raised of death to the Aldamas, and the crowd of soldiers 
and others aiding them made for the palatial mansion of Mr. Miguel 
Delmonte y Aldama, a gentleman of large wealth in this city, who in 
September, 1868, forswore his allegiance to the Queen of Spain, and 
made his declaratien of intention to become a citizen of the United 
States before the superior court of common pleas of the city and State 
of New York. Fortunately, both for Mr. Aldama and his family, he, 
having had previous notice of an intended attack upon his elegant prem- 
ises, had gone to the country ; otherwise they would have all been mur- 
dered. The mob of soldiers, however, found ingress to his mansion, 
and committed every species of vandalism possible to imagine. 

I myself visited some twelve of his rooms yesterday and can speak of 
my own knowledge. 

These rooms were completely ransacked, valuable jewelry stolen, fur-, 
niture destroyed, shots fired into the ceilings, &c, objects of vertu carried 
off or destroyed, wine cellars and pantries broken open, and of which 
these villains amply partook. 

Finally, the torch was applied, but the fear of self-destruction and the 
instinct of preservation induced some of their least inebriated comrades 
to extinguish it. 

This was not enough to satisfy their fury and madness. A young 
negress, 13 years of age, was forcibly violated, and a middle-aged Irish 
woman also shared the same fate. 

After four hours of riotous, brutal, and inhuman conduct, the chief of 
police made his appearance, and with some of the civil police, more 
through persuasion than force, induced them to leave the building. The 
result has been the loss to Mr. Aldama of some $30,000, to say nothing 
of the destruction of pictures and other objects of vertu, impossible to 
replace. General Dulce himself has visited Mr. Aldama's premises, at 
his request, to see the damage and injury perpetrated, and has expressed 
his deep condemnation of the outrage. I beg herewith to inclose a 
protest addressed to me by citizens of the United States, both natives 
and naturalized, in which you will find their just complaints fully set 
forth. 

I must here remark that, previous to its receipt, on the 2Gth, I had 
already addressed my remonstrance to the Captain General. 

Of his reply you will yourself be enabled to judge. In my opinion it 
does not come up to the demand. 

He seems to treat the murder of Mr. Cohner as an accidental affair. 
Such is not my opinion. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 187 

It is an open outrage to our country, which must receive ample and 
full reparation. 

I have hitherto applied for a naval force for the protection of citi- 
zens of the United States and their interests. I have received your 
answer and that of the Secretary of the Navy. I now, through you, 
would appeal directly to the Congress of the United States at Washing- 
ton and in session, and say to them that " at this time the lives and 
property of citizens of the United States are not safe here." 

The proof is in that large numbers of persons, of both sexes, are flee- 
ing hence for safety elsewhere. The landing nightly of marines and 
seamen from the Spanish naval squadron here to guard the city amply 
attests, also, the fact that General Dulce cannot rely upon the volunteers 
to protect himself and the people of Havana. 

I would most earnestly recommend that when a force does come here 
for the purpose of rendering protection to our people and their interests 
its commanders receive instructions, at their discretion and sound judg- 
ment, to use that force effectively, and give them the protection which 
the law of nations guarantees to them. 

This is the beginning of these outrages, and you may rely upon it that 
the end is not yet, and until Cuba shall be free. 

I leave to your able hands the case of Mr. Cohner, as my position as 
a vice-consul general of the United States does not permit me to pursue 
it further for the present, and until your further instructions shall have 
been received. The reply of General Dulce is by no means satisfactory 
to me, and I could well have answered it. The fact is, however, that he 
has not sufficient force within his immediate reach to compel the dis- 
arming of these volunteers, and he is compelled to temporize. 

The threat has openly been made that Dulce must be forcibly removed 
from office, and Lieutenant Genaro Solorzano, of the first battalion of 
volunteers, a native of Vizcaya, is now in prison under suspicion of at- 
tempting the life of General Dulce. 

The inclosed extras of the 25th, 26th, and 27th instant will give you 
the accounts which are furnished by the press of the city touching these 
occurrences. 

Eeferring again to the attack on Mr. Aldama's house, I desire your 
instructions as to how far in his case (as he is in a transitory state) I 
can extend to him the protection which would inure to a naturalized 
citizen of the United States. 

He left the United States with the intention of returning after closing 
his business affairs here, and under the advice of Messrs. Evarts, Choate 
& Co., eminent lawyers of the city of New York. 



No. 126. 

Mr. Phillips to Mr. Fish. 

[Extract.] 

United States Consulate, 

Santiago de Cuba, January 3, 1870. 

The political state of affairs at this consular district is in a most de- 
plorable condition. The assassination at Bayamo of the citizens sent 
from this city by order of Count Yalmaseda, which fact I have already 



188 STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

communicated to the department, was nothing* more than what is daily 
perpetrated. It is well known that Valmaseda aspires to the position of 
Captain General of the island, and in order to increase his popularity among 
the blood-craving Catalans, who are operating in his behalf, both in this 
island and in Spain, gives imperative orders to make this a war of exter- 
mination, and we daily learn of peaceful citizens residing in the country 
assassinated by the mobilized Spanish troops. These orders are proba- 
bly carried to an extreme, from the fact that those commanding such 
troops are constantly supplying some Catalan produce dealers of this 
city, and whose object is to suck the country and forward to their agents 
such portions of the crop as may fall into their hands. The planters are 
persecuted to such a degree as to be compelled to flee from their estates, 
whose crops are immediately sequestered, and appropriated to private 
purposes. 

Very little credit can be placed upon the Spanish press, being a gov- 
ernment organ, which maintains that the insurrection is finished in this 
department, which is far from the truth. The insurrection continues in 
full force, and frequent encounters take place, as is seen by the frequent 
arrivals of wounded Spanish soldiers. The Cubans, being better armed 
and disciplined than formerly, in many cases take the offensive, and, 
having had their ranks increased by desertion from the Spanish army, 
are becoming bold and fight well. Much sickness prevails among the 
newly arrived Spanish troops, who find it impossible to endure the 
climate. It is estimated that fifty per cent, of the Spanish volunteers 
from sickness are put liors du combat; the hospitals are full to overflow- 
ing. Much anxiety has been felt by the Cubans respecting the position 
of our government in the Cuba question, and I am inclined to believe, 
unless some action is taken upon the matter, the insurrection will con- 
tinue for a long time, as it is impossible for any force that Spain can 
send to exterminate the rebel force, owing to the climate and topo- 
graphy of the country, while both contending parties destroy every 
vestige of agriculture. It is generally known and admitted by the liberal 
minded Spanish officers, who do not conceal the fact, that it is impossible 
to suppress the insurrection, and the only inducement offered for the con- 
tinuance of the same is that the commanding officers are filling their 
pockets at the expense of the country. 

The above is the actual state of the country, founded upon a long 
residence and thorough knowledge of the people and country. 

The health of the city continues in an abnormal condition ; small-pox, 

endemic fevers, and misery to an alarming extent prevail. 

****** 



No. 127. 

Mr. Rail to Mr. Davis. 

January 31, 1870. 
The accompanying is a slip from the ISTew York Sun of October 5th 
ultimo, containing a statement in regard to the murder of one Eobert 
Wells at Cienfuegos. The statement appearing to be based upon evi- 
dence, I thought it my duty to make inquiry in regard to its truth, and 
with that view I transmitted it to Mr. Morris, the United States consu- 
lar agent at Cienfuegos. To-day I have received the following reply : 

I have received your official note to me of 20th ultimo ; it has not been answered in 
course, owing to my illness. 

******* 

The paragraph in the slip you sent me, relating to Mr. Robert Wells, is pure inven- 
tion; no such person was ever known here. I return the slip as requested. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 189 

[From the New York Sun, October 5, 1869.] 

THE REVOLUTION IN CUBA— THE UNITED STATES EXCHANGING DIPLOMATIC NOTES — 
MEANTIME THE SPANIARDS WANTONLY MURDERING CITIZENS OP THE UNITED STATES — 
NO CESSATION OF SPANISH ATROCITIES IN CUBA — HOW LONG, OH, HOW LONG ? 

. [Correspondence of the Sun.] 

Havana, September 25. 
The situation in Cuba becomes more and more painful to contemplate. Each month 
ends with its new lists^ of infamous, more than semi-barbarous deeds at Spanish hands. 
No little interest is evinced by our sugar dealers regarding the next crop. What do 
the insurrectionists propose to do with the ripening cane 1 is now the question. They 
have already disabled some three hundred engines of so many sugar cane mills, and 
rendered useless for this year as many steam boilers. I have heard sugar merchants 
say within the last few days that if the revolution could not be suppressed by Decem- 
ber 1, only a one-third crop could be gathered. The amount on hand in the five large 
sugar warehouses of this city is 192,500 boxes, against 237,000 this time last year. 

FORTIFYING THE RIVERS. 

Count Valmaseda, since he received absolute command in the Eastern department, 
has ordered that the Rio Salado, at its junction with Rio Canto, be fortified with earth- 
works and cannon. Also, he orders that Rio Canto be fortified at its mouth on the 
coast. It is the largest river on the island. Valmaseda also has directed that Gibara, 
Puerto Padre, Nuevitas, and Trinidad be doubly fortified by additional lines of earth- 
works. The rumors recently received of piratical vessels, and the frequent mention 
made of the Hornet, have awakened the Spaniards to a sense of threatening dangers. 
One vessel, well manned and armed, and commanded by- a brave, wise commander, 
would be able to well nigh ruin the coast trade of Cuba, and interrupt the arrival and 
departure of Spanish mail steamers. 

ANOTHER AMERICAN ASSASSINATED. 

How easily Americans are murdered in foreign lands and their assassinators escape 
punishment or even reproof, has been exemplified so frequently that it seems useless 
even to chronicle tlieir death. Not many weeks ago Mr. Robert Wells, a citizen of the 
United States, and of late years a foreman in a Jersey City machine shop, came to Cuba 
to arrange tbe settlement of his father's estate or property, left him at his death. From 
this city he went to Cienfuegos, where his father left some unsettled accounts. Him- 
self and two friends were walking by the Spanish barracks one evening about three 
weeks since, when the sentinel on duty called his " Quien vive " — who comes there— in 
a smothered tone. Neither he nor his friends hearing the call, they walked on. The 
sentinal, enraged at having no response, rushed upon the three gentlemen and gave 
Mr. Wells a bayonet thrust, from which he died three days afterward. His brother-in- 
law arrived here day before yesterday from New York, expecting to carry his body 
back. His family reside in Lawrence Street, Brooklyn. Nothing to be done, we find 
on making inquiry at the consul-general's office. The great United States does nothing 
but exchange consular notes when an American is murdered in a foreign land. How 
different with the Britons! When young Ferguson was arrested at Manzanillo, the 
English consul there chartered and sent a sailing vessel to Nassau to inform the British 
commander there that a British subject was in danger. The result was that two British 
men-of-war were sent to Manzanillo to take Ferguson, either peaceably or forcibly. 
He was taken away. When the Spanish commander there hesitated to surrender him, 
the commander of the English frigate sent him word he must do so or he would bombard 
the city. 



No. 128. 
Mr. Sail to Mr. Davis. 



E°- 47 -] Havana, February 5, 1870. 

I am unable for want of time to give the department a full account 
of the events that have transpired here and at Matanzas during the 
past week, and since the news of the assassination of the editor of a 
paper of this city at Key West. 



190 STRUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

There have been popular demonstrations in many places, growing out 
of the affair at Key West on the 31st ultimo. At Matanzas these de- 
monstrations culminated in a riot, in which, fortunately, no lives were 
lost. On the 2d instant a person by the name of Dr. Vicente Dawney, 
or Dauni, was shot in an affray with some volunteers at a coffee-house 
in the city. It is stated that he attempted to give his own version- of 
the assassination, reflecting upon the conduct of the deceased Castanon. 
He arrived in the same steamer that brought the remains. 

It is also said that Dauni was a citizen of the United States, although 
a native of this island ; but I have not yet been able to obtain any posi- 
tive evidence of the fact. The affair is now undergoing judicial inves- 
tigation, the residt of which will be communicated to me by the political 
secretary, to whom I have applied for information. 

It is possible that there may be, as there have been on other occasions, 
efforts made to create the impression that the lives of American citizens 
are in jeopardy here. In my judgment, they are as well protected here 
at present as any other class ; in fact, I do not remember that, at any 
time, there has been less evidence of jealousy or prejudice toward 
them, and it is to be hoped that nothing will occur to disturb the exist- 
ing harmony. 

By the earliest opportunity I shall communicate further to the depart- 
ment in reference to the affair at Key West. 



No. 129. 
Mr. Hall to Mr. Davis. 

No. 52.J « Havana, February 9, 1S70, 

Following upon the news received here of the disastrous retreat of 
General Puello from Guaimaro, which, with the elation of the Cubans, 
perhaps foolishly manifested, caused much excitement and bad feeling 
among the lowest and worst class of Peninsulares, was announced on 
the 31st ultimo by the cable that Don Gonzalo Gastaiion, editor of the 
Voz de Cuba, of this city, had been assassinated at Key West. 

The news was communicated by several dispatches, among them one 
to the office of that paper, which was immediately published in the form 
of a handbill, and circulated all over the city. An impression was 
created that he had died a martyr, and all the excitable passions of the 
class referred to were directly appealed to. 

On the 2d instant the funeral of the deceased Castanon was celebrated 
with great pomp, during which, and up to the 5th instant, everything 
had passed off much more quietly than was expected, and it was con- 
fidently hoped that order would continue. 

But it would seem that in permitting and encouraging the demonstra- 
tions that have been made over the remains of the deceased Castanon, 
the authorities have unconsciously caused an excitement that they 
cannot control. They promise protection to all, native as well as foreign, 
and their earnest desire and anxiety to comply cannot be doubted ; but 
their inability to protect the lives of peaceable inhabitants, or to punish 
the atrocities that are being daily committed, is evident. 

It is probable that the present excitement will quiet down ; but a 
similar one, with like results, may at any time be aroused by events that 
cannot be foreseen, and which the authorities will be found equally 
powerless to prevent. 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 191 

At present there are none of our vessels of war in any of these ports, 
and, in view of the facts above recited, I beg leave to repeat the sug- 
gestion made in my No. 50 of the 7th instant, as the presence of national 
vessels may be needed for the purpose of offering a refuge to our citizens 
in the event of popular outbreaks, against which, as I before stated, 
there appears to be little security. 



No. 130. 

Mr. Sail to Mr. Davis. 

3sT . 53.] Havana, February 11, 1870. 

I have the honor to inclose herewith a copy of an interesting commu- 
nication addressed to me from Matanzas, narrating the recent occurrences 
at that place, referred to in my despatch No. 47, of 5th instant. 



Matanzas, February 7, 1870. 

I beg leave to report the following facts in connection with the disturbance which 
occurred in this city on the night of the 1st instant : 

The killing of Don Gonzalo Castafion in Key West was known here, through the 
Havana papers, received on the morning of Tuesday the 1st instant, and naturally 
caused profound indignation. It was the topic of excited conversation during the day, 
and threats were uttered against many prominent Cubans. Nothing occurred, how- 
ever, to disturb the public order, and the day passed without any incidents of im- 
portance. 

At about six or seven o'clock in the evening the second battalion of volunteers, 
which had been occupying and protecting the Aldama estates for the past month, returned 
to the city, having been relieved by the third battalion. As usual, they were paraded 
through some of the principal streets, and were then dispersed to their respective houses. 
There was no demonstration beyond the accustomed "Vivas" to Spain, the Captain 
General, and the volunteers, and they separated in perfect order and quiet. 

Notwithstanding the apparent tranquillity, a plan had been formed in the morning, 
so it is now said, to take from the jail during the night certain Cuban prisoners, who 
were held there under charges of having concealed weapons on their estates, and to put 
them to death in revenge for the murder of Castafion. I am convinced that if such a 
plan existed it was known to very few volunteers, as the subsequent results indicated 
a want of system and order in carrying out their intentions. 

In the first part of the night nothing unusual occurred, and very few had any appre- 
hensions of trouble or disturbance. The streets and plaza were frequented, and private 
houses, stores, and public buildings open, indicating either perfect ignorance or a sense 
of security. 

At about 11-J o'clock the trumpets of the different battalions were heard, and after- 
ward drums were beaten, and the calls sounded through the streets requiring the vol- 
unteers to come out and assemble. Nearly all did so. 

The companies were formed at the usual places of rendezvous, and were then 
marched to the Plaza de Armas, where the battalions were formed. By 12-J- o'clock 
almost tfie entire volunteer force of the city was under arms, and assembled in the 
plaza in front of the palace. Each company was commanded by its officers, and the 
battalions by their chiefs, so that the crowd had the semblance of organization, though 
there was no apparent uniformity of wish or purpose. It was evidently a demonstra- 
tion set on foot by a few evil-disposed persons, and the majority of the volunteers 
had come out merely in answer to the call, and without knowing the object of their 
being brought together. 

Assembled in front of the palace loud cries were at once raised, " Death to traitors,' 
" Death to the prisoners," " To the jail," and similar cheers and violent shouts. The gover- 
nor came down and met them in the portico of the palace, asking what they wanted and 
what they meant by such a disorderly proceeding and such violent language. One or 
two of the boldest came out then andtold him openly, that they had come to demand the 
prisoners who were in jail, to shoot in revenge for the death of Castafion. He replied 
firmly that they could not have them ; that the prisoners were charged with a crime 
against the state, that they would be tried by the proper tribunal, and if found 



192 STEUGGLE FOE INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

guilty would be put to death ; if inuoceut would be released. To this they replied 
with vile abuse directed against the, governor and against their field aud line officers, 
all of the former and most of the latter endeavoring to restrain the men and induce 
them to desist from their purpose. 

The real commotion commenced at this time, and the rioters became frantic in their 
shouts and cries for vengeance, aud in their vituperation and scancj&lous abuse *of their 
officers ; some twenty or tbirty shots were fired into the air and threats Avere freely 
made against some prominent Cubans of the place. Maddened by the refusal by the 
governor to give up the prisoners, they sent ten men to the jail to force a way in, and 
subsequently sent some twenty more. ' These fellows presented themselves at the gate 
and demanded the keys, which were refused. Tbe guards were turned out under arms 
and were ready to resist an entrance, which the rioters seemed determined to force, 
when the governor rode up with his staff and succeeded in allaying tbe excitement, 
sending tbe men back to the plaza. 

This want of success still furtber influenced the volunteers, but they seemed to con- 
tent themselves with seditious cries, and with hurling insults at their officers. Many 
shots were fired, some at private houses. Two balls entered the house of D. Eamon 
Binfau, breaking the stained glass over the windows, and the houses of D. Pablo Maria 
Gracia and D. Benigno Gener were fired into. 

On tbe return of the governor from the jail he again harangued tbe assembled 
crowd, stating in plain terms that they were guilty of criminal disorder ; tbat if Spain 
should ever lose the island of Cuba, it would" be due to their excesses ; that many ot 
the disturbances that had occurred had been promoted by them, and tbat instead of a 
support to tbe government they were a continual source of anxiety from tbeir unre- 
strained, lawless tendencies. Meantime, while these matters were going on at the 
plaza, the battalion of marines, two companies, were forming at tbe wbarf, and tbe 
governor galloped down and addressed them a short speech, asking if they were dis- 
posed to assist him in the maintenance of order. A unanimous cry of " yes" was the 
response, and he at once marched them up to the plaza and formed them in line in 
front of the palace. 

By this time the disorder had somewhat abated ; the day was dawning, and an order 
was issued for a general review at eight a. m., in the Plaza de Vigia. The efforts of 
the officers began to have effect ; the peaceable volunteers found that they were the 
victims of a lawless plot of the violent ones ; and these latter saw themselves baffled 
in their schemes and had no other recourse but to yield. 

The review was held, and the governor made an energetic and decided speech to the 
volunteers, repeating the substance of his previous remarks, and stating further that 
he intended chastising with the utmost rigor of the law the promoters and ring- 
leaders of the riot, and called on the peaceable men to come forward and disclose to 
him the authors of the scandal. 

During the above affair there were but sixty veteran soldiers in the place. These 
were in the barracks, and were kept under arms during the night, an extra supply 
of ammunition being issued and decided orders given for any emergency. 

The conduct of the governor during the affair is deserving of high praise, and his 
determination and courage cannot be too highly eulogized. 

After the review the troops dispersed and the trouble for the time ended. 

In pursuance of his promise to seek out and punish the instigators of the riot, the 
governor on Friday night last arrested and placed in the Castillo de San Severino 
six individuals, who were especially prominent in the affair. On Sunday morning 
these men were carried, tied or in hand-cuffs, to Havana, and, I am told, were shipped 
to Spain by the steamer which sailed on that day. 

This last proceeding has excited almost as much commotion as the previous one, 
except that in this instance the indignation is against the governor and the officers of 
police who executed the order. Last night rumors were rife that another demonstra- 
tion was to take place, but the governor, apprized of the fact, called together the com- 
manding officers of the volunteers and warned them against any disorderly proceed- 
ing, stating further that he had given orders that the battalion Napoles, now in Colon, 
should be ready to move, that a train was prepared for them, and that in three hours 
after the first symptoms of the trouble they would be under arms in the city of Ma- 
tanzas. 

The night passed without disturbance. 

P. S. — The town is full of rumors. The volunteers are terribly excited against the 
governor and IbaSez, the chief of police. They say that to-night Ibanez is to be 
ousted ; also, they say that the Napoles battalion will arrive in town to-night ; also, 
that the six men who were arrested are coming back, and that they are to be 
feted ; also, that they want to oust the governor ; also, that a large number of tele- 
graphic dispatches have passed to-day between the governor and the Captain General ; 
also, tbat three men were killed in Havana to-day ; also, that a number of Cubans 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA, 193 

have been killed in Key West, in an attempt to rescue the prisoners detained for the 
murder of Castanon. 

And lastly, brings the news from Havana that they are talking of inviting Rodas to 
resign. 

Matanzas, February 8, 1870. 
The volunteers last night at nine o'clock informally, and not in uniform, assembled 
in front of the palace, and required that the chief of police tender his resignation. He 
did so and it was, of course, accepted. There was no row, no violence nor trouble. 
Last night the governor had a double guard posted at the palace, and though the turu 
to do guard duty there fell to the first battalion, it was given to the marines. This 
excited a little comment, but nothing occurred. No veteran troops have arrived here. 
To-day the weather is stormy, but all else is quiet. 

H. Ex. Doc. 160 13 



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